Undoing
by Caroline
Summary: [BB] 'This could not be in the cards for her. She didn't want it to be.'
1. Prologue: It Happened

TITLE: Undoing  
PROLOGUE: It Happened  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Don't quite know what inspired this, but here it is. Oh, and there is a dark and controversial theme coming up, so be prepared.

* * *

It happened because, since 'the incident' -- that was what Booth made her refer to the kidnapping as -- since then, hugging had somehow become part of their 'routine.' It happened because one night just a couple weeks ago, as they'd been hugging, Booth had turned his nose in to her hair and inhaled softly. It happened because she turned her head to ask what he was doing. It happened because, instead of answering her as they stood on her doorstep, he'd kissed her. And it happened because that kiss never stopped, even after they'd tumbled into her bed.

Angela would tell her that it happened because it was supposed to happen. It was written in the stars, or whatever other fluffy explanation she would invariably come up with. But Temperance Brennan knew... as she strode quickly back from the Jeffersonian bathroom shoving an object into her lab coat pocket... that _this_ certainly was not supposed to happen. This could not be in the cards for her. She didn't want it to be.

She burst into her office and grabbed the object out of her pocket, flinging it into her garbage can without a second glance. If she discarded it, covered it with her empty Starbucks cup and sandwich wrapper, then it wouldn't be real anymore. So she did just that, and then strode purposefully back toward the evidence room, ignoring the small turn of her stomach as she did so.

Nobody would know. Not Zack or Hodgins, not Angela, and certainly not Booth. There had to be a way to undo it, before anybody could find out.

* * *

TBC 


	2. Chapter One: On Going

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER ONE: On-Going

* * *

"Brenn, are you even listening to us?"

"Hmm?" She lifted her head, her heavy lids causing her blink to slow. "Yeah, of course I'm listening. Go on."

Details of her latest case with Booth were being given, but Temperance couldn't concentrate. Concentration was fastly becoming a difficulty for her... something she was completely unaccustomed to. She'd always prided herself on having excellent focus, but lately it had been slowly draining out of her. It wasn't the job -- that could never cause her disinterest. It wasn't her colleagues -- she'd always found them brilliant and their ideas fascinating.

Her thoughts kept returning to Booth, to the changes that had been made in their relationship in the past few weeks. She didn't want this, she never had. And all because of her inability to stop Booth from kissing her, she was now neck-deep in something she was neither ready nor willing to deal with.

Once 'her people' -- as Booth referred to them -- had finished briefing her on the new evidence uncovered in her case, Temperance made her way back to her office and shut herself inside, booting up her computer immediately. Her favorite search page was up in nanoseconds and she typed her query into the box, reaching for her mouse to click the 'search' button. Options popped up and she scanned them, oblivious to anything but her plight... until she heard the click of heels on the tile floor.

"What are you doing?"

She flicked her monitor off and spun in her chair, closing her eyes at the brief head rush resulting from the spin. "Nothing. Just doing some Googling."

"About a case?" Angela questioned.

"Yes."

"_This _case?"

Temperance shook her head and leaned one elbow on her desk blotter. "It's on-going."

"Oh. Is it Booth's case, too?"

She swallowed. "Yeah, it's Booth's, too."

Angela took a seat on her best friend's couch, making herself comfortable as she so often did. "I thought you guys only did one case at a time."

"Normally, but this is on-going, and I wanted to do some research. Booth doesn't know."

"Well if it's his case, shouldn't he know? Are you going to tell him?"

"No, I'm not. I can take care of this aspect of the case on my own."

"Ahh. So how have you and Booth been getting along?" A wide grin spread across her face. "I've noticed you two seem a bit less... tense around each other lately."

"I guess we have been."

"Did something happen with you two?" Before waiting for an answer, she chuckled. "I _so_ knew it would. I knew it as soon as Hodgins told me about you guys clinging to each other in that warehouse. I knew it would only be a matter of time."

"Hodgins told you about that?"

Angela snorted. "Are you kidding? He speed-dialed me to tell me the good news. Apparently, I'm not the only one in the Brennan-and-Booth fan club..." She grinned widely again. "Although, I am the president."

Temperance closed her eyes again, exhausted by the line of conversation. "Any chance we can continue this later? I need a nap."

"Okay." Angela rose to her feet, studying her friend the entire time. She made her way out and paused in the doorway, turning back around. "Are you alright, Sweetie?"

"I'm fine, Ange," Temperance reassured her as she reclined on her couch. "Just need a nap."

"Okay... I'll, uh, come wake you up in an hour."

"Thank you." She closed her eyes and waited until Angela's footfalls faded before she sat up again and went back to her computer. She flicked the monitor on and once again brought up the page she'd been looking at. She grabbed a piece of scrap paper off her notepad and jotted down the information she needed before folding the piece of paper up and shoving it in her pocket for safe-keeping.

Temperance then went back over to the couch and laid down, closing her eyes for her much-needed nap. She'd make the necessary phone calls later. For now, slumber was calling her.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **In case anyone has been wondering... no, I have not forgotten about 'Nothing Personal.' I have hit a patch of writer's block with it that I am trying my best to struggle through. Please be patient and know that I am working on it. Thanks :D_


	3. Chapter Two: Establishing Attraction

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER TWO: Establishing Attraction

* * *

"Okay, so what Dr. Brennan needs are these two pieces of bone... photograph them before you bag them... and the dirt collected from around the body," Booth commanded the lower-ranking agents, still making his own notes on his notepad. "We'll take the bagged evidence with us then, as Dr. Brennan would prefer to have her team analyze them."

The agents nodded and set about their assigned tasks while Booth's attention diverted to the brown-red hair re-entering his line of vision. He chuckled and she glared, already knowing what was on his mind.

"Okay, Bones, I am officially cutting you off from having any more bottled water."

"I've only had three, Booth."

"And apparently that's all your bladder can handle."

She rolled her eyes and turned when her cell phone began trilling against her hip. "Brennan," she answered after pulling it to her ear. She nodded to whatever was said on the other end of the line as she and Booth made their way back to the SUV. "Yes. Thank you for confirming, I'll see you then." She hung up and placed it back in its holder, clipped to her belt.

Booth raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Something about this case?"

Temperance shook her head. "No."

He nodded and began to drive. Then, after a moment of silence drifted by, he tried again for information. "Who was it? Who are you seeing 'then'?"

Temperance drew in a breath, let it out slowly, and kept her gaze focused on the scenery out the passenger-side window. "Uh, my editor. I set up an appointment to discuss my next book."

He grinned. "Am I in this one too? Do we get to do it in this one?"

She turned widened eyes on him. "Booth!"

He shrugged. "What? You established, in the last book, the attraction between your character and the handsome Special Agent Andy Lister, who... let's face it... is me."

"So?"

"So, let them have some sex in this book."

"Why? Just because we did?"

"No. But don't torture your readers. They're invested in that relationship."

She furrowed her brows and shook her head at him slowly. "No they are not. They're invested in the cases, the mystery, the--"

"Romance, Bones. People love romance. And you established a possible one between us in your last book."

"Is that what you think we have? A romance?"

Booth glimpsed quick at her before turning his eyes back to the road, and he gave a facial shrug. "Well, I don't know that I'd give it the frilly 'romance' label, but you and I both know, Bones, that there has been something between us from day one. A natural chemistry... and you think I'm hot."

"Says who?"

"Angela, for one... and then there's your book..."

"The book is only _loosely_ based on me, and on my career."

He chuckled. "Then you must have _really_ found me hot, because your character spent quite a bit of time analyzing my character's looks and how she feels about him."

"You were attracted to me, too," she shot back, her tone more accusatory and childish than she would've liked it to be.

"Yes, I was. Still am, very much so. And it's more than just finding you attractive, Temperance. I'm intrigued by you and constantly amazed by you... by your heart and your soul." A teasing leer was sent her way then as he added, "The body was a given."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a male."

"What I'm saying is, what happened two weeks ago... there was a reason for it."

She swallowed hard at this, but he took no notice as his eyes were still on the road, "And I know we haven't really talked about it, but... I thought you should know that I enjoyed myself."

Temperance cast her gaze to her lap as she admitted softly, "I did too." She looked up when she noted the car slowing, and as she glanced out the windshield she also noted that Booth was pulling the car over, just blocks away from the Jeffersonian. She immediately panicked. "What are you doing?"

His smile eased any trepidation she might have felt, though it didn't calm the butterflies flying rampant in her stomach. "I'm pulling over so we can talk about this properly."

He pulled over to the shoulder and threw the car in park, then angled his body to face his partner.

The silence was awkward as they stared at each other, each hoping the other would speak first. Booth finally sighed. "Bones... Temperance, you've gotta know by now how much I care for you. How strong my feelings are for you."

She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on her lap. "I have some idea, yes."

"And... I hope that what happened a couple weeks ago is an indication that you just might feel the same."

Her reply was nearly inaudible. "I do." She looked up when she sensed his smile.

"That's good. Because I've been dying to do this for two weeks." He leaned in then, and gently kissed her.

When she didn't pull away, he deepened the kiss, reaching for her to pull her closer. The console separating them prevented achievement of their desired proximity, but this did not deter their kiss.

They pulled away with one final peck, and Booth gave her a brilliant smile before winking and throwing the car into gear once again. Temperance smiled at him, though he didn't see... before she felt the turn in her stomach.

Booth pulled into his usual parking space at the Jeffersonian, but before he could open the car door for her as he often liked to do, Tempe had already jumped out and was making quick strides into the building. He frowned in confusion at her quick pace and hurried after her. "Bones, wait up! The kiss wasn't that bad, was it?"

She didn't answer, but shook her head from several feet in front of him to reassure him. He had almost caught up with her inside and was about to ask what was wrong, but she sprinted for the bathroom before he had a chance. He tsked and shook his head as Angela ambled up to him.

"What's up with Brenn?"

He smirked. "She downed three bottles of water in the span of an hour." He then nodded toward the evidence room. "Zack and Hodgins in there?"

Angela nodded and watched as Booth set off to find the other 'squints' before she turned her attention toward the bathrooms. Her brow furrowed in contemplation as she slowly walked toward the ladies' room, pressing gently on the door. Something was definitely up with her best friend... and she was bound and determined to find out what it was.

* * *

TBC 


	4. Chapter Three: Snooping

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER THREE: Snooping

* * *

Angela entered the ladies' room just in time to see her best friend emerging from one of the stalls. Her eyes widened at the sight. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

In her typical 'Brennan' way, Temperance made a dismissive face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bit too much water. Why?"

Angela raised an eyebrow while she watched her friend wash up, not missing the fact that she splashed water on her face. "Because your face is white as a sheet. Are you sick?"

To her surprise, instead of the usual denial, she got a nod in response. "I just might be."

"Well... maybe you should go home. I'll go let Booth know, and--"

"No!"

Angela turned at the frenzy in her friend's voice, and winced at the pain currently emanating from where fingernails had dug into her arm. "Ooookay... why can't I tell Booth?" She managed to pry her arm free and began to rub the sore spots.

"Because you know how Booth gets," was the explanation received. "He's way too overprotective even when I'm healthy, so imagine how much he'll hover if he finds out I'm sick. I'll be fine."

"Did you puke? Is it contagious?"

"Yes, and I don't know. I'd advise you not to get too close, though, just in case." Temperance patted her face dry after splashing it for a second time, then tossed the paper towel in the garbage before heading out.

"Well, do you want to lie down? You should really see a doctor."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she made her way to her office. "Angela, I promise you that I'll be fine. If I need to lie down, I will." She grabbed the case file off her desk and turned to face her friend, holding the file to her chest and crossing her arms over it. "Okay?"

Angela held her hands up in resignation. "Sure. But keep in mind that I'm not cleaning puke off the evidence table later."

Temperance smiled, just slightly. "Alright." She strode out of the office, not concerned with whether or not her best friend was on her heels, so Angela decided to hang back.

She looked around the office slowly, her eyes taking everything in. She was inexperienced where detective work was concerned, but snooping? Snooping was something she was excellent at. And she knew Brennan wouldn't get _too _mad at her for doing it, either.

The desk blotter gave nothing away, which was no surprise. Though it boasted a calendar, its biggest purpose was to be a catch-all for files, photos, and anything pertaining to Brennan's cases. The next thing she checked was the computer. She moved the mouse quickly across the pad, hoping it was in standby mode, only to find out it was shut down. She moved on to something else. Though she was well-versed in snooping, Angela knew too well that to boot up Brennan's computer and snoop would be crossing the line. If it had been on, it would have been fair game.

She turned her attention to the small desk calendar beside the monitor next. The page on top was blank, but something on a following page, written in red Sharpie, could be seen through the opaque paper. Angela flipped the page and furrowed her brow, reading the information aloud. "Anderwood on K Street, three o'clock." She then repeated this information a few times in her head, encoding it into her memory for later retrieval.

The garbage can was her next point of interest. She lifted it up and grimaced as she moved a chunk of discarded sandwich out of the way with her free hand, followed by an empty Starbucks cup... and she gasped.

She dropped the garbage can, and closed her eyes as a shocked whisper escaped her lips. "Brenn..."

* * *

TBC 


	5. Chapter Four: Unanswered

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER FOUR: Unanswered

* * *

Angela had kept her eye on Brennan for the rest of the work day, cataloguing her behavior until she left for the night. Her watch resumed the next morning when she noted from her office that her best friend headed for the bathroom first thing upon arriving. Within minutes she'd emerged, everything about her completely normal save for the pallor in her face.

Angela narrowed her eyes resolutely at the sight and sprang to her feet, logging off her computer and heading for the door. She met Brennan at the bottom of the stairs, calling out a cheery, "Morning, Sweetie!" and patting her friend on the back.

Tired blue eyes met hers though a response was sent cheerfully back. "Morning, Ange. You're here early." She headed for her office and Angela, as always, followed on her heels.

"Yeah, I decided to be a good employee and log a couple extra hours this week. So what's up for your day?"

Temperance shrugged and sat down at her desk, booting up her computer. "Booth wants me to chase some leads with him, but I have an appointment at three today with my editor."

"Ahhh."

Temperance looked up at her friend, studying her contemplatively. "Everything okay, Ange?"

She shrugged in response. "You tell me."

Tempe raised an eyebrow. "You're acting just a little strange."

"Guess that makes two of us, then. What's going on with you, Brenn? You know you can tell me anything."

"Of course I know that. And nothing's going on with me," she insisted, bringing up her e-mail account and typing speedily, "I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's become your motto these days." Without further pretense, she flopped onto the couch and posed her nonchalantly-voiced question. "So when are you going to tell Booth that you're pregnant?"

The fast typing stopped. Angela flinched when the pull-out keyboard tray was flung back into the desk. Tempe's chair spun around and revealed the shock on her face. "What-- how did--"

Angela rolled her eyes then. "Sweetie, I am neither male nor an idiot." She tilted her head slightly. "Aaand, I found your test in the garbage."

"You snooped!"

"Yeah, and under the circumstances, it's a damn good thing that I did! How the hell did this happen?"

"Are you looking for a clinical description?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Alright, so I know how it happened. But... when? It's Booth's right? I haven't seen you with any other hunky FBI agents lately."

"Booth and I slept together a couple weeks ago."

"Well he must have some powerful swimmers then, because to get through a condom..."

"Well see, I was on the pill at the time and we were at my place. I don't really keep those kinds of supplies on-hand, and--"

"Oh, Sweetie, you didn't!" Her tone was low, admonishing.

"Well, I was on the pill! It's supposed to have ninety-nine percent accuracy!"

Angela shook her head. "But you've gotta know it's not foolproof, honey. You've got a Ph.D."

"Right."

"So what now? Does Booth know?"

Now it was Temperance shaking her head. "No, and he never will."

"Okay, I know that he's male and they're not the brightest, but... I think he's going to notice when your stomach is the size of a bowling ball in six months."

Tempe continued shaking her head as she rose to her feet. "I can't talk about this anymore. I have to go meet Booth at the Hoover building and get some work done before my appointment today."

"Wait a minute." Angela reached out and grabbed her friend's arm, preventing her from leaving and searching her eyes. "The appointment. At Anderwood."

Tempe rolled her eyes. "Do you go through _all_ of my things?"

"That's not important right now, but yes I do. That appointment's not with your editor, is it?"

"Ange..."

"Sweetie, you have to tell Booth. He'll want to go with you to the appointment, I'm sure."

"No, he wouldn't. Look, I have to go. I'll call you later."

Before anything else could be said, Temperance was out the door and Angela was once again left hanging around her office. The computer was still on, she noted, so she pulled up the web browser and did a search for 'Anderwood'. She still had unanswered questions... ones which she knew would not be answered by her ever-evasive best friend.

* * *

TBC 


	6. Chapter Five: Waiting

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER FIVE: Waiting

* * *

"So do you think he did it?"

"Booth," Temperance sighed as she and her partner slid onto their usual stools at the bar at Wong Foo's, "I think you know by now that I don't draw conclusions so easily."

"I know. I was just--"

"'Poking and prodding,'" she chuckled. "I know."

"Well if isn't my two favorite crime-fighters," Sid called as he emerged from the restaurant kitchen. "Here for lunch?"

"Yes we are, Sid. What are we having today?" Booth smiled.

Sid held up a finger in a signal for them to wait a minute. "I'll be back in a few, and you will see, my friends. Excuse me." He ducked back into the kitchen, leaving Booth to chuckle at his exit before turning back to his partner.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his eyes flicking over her.

She shrugged. "I feel fine."

"Angela mentioned yesterday that you might be coming down with something."

Tempe rolled her eyes. "I told her not to say anything."

"Why?" he grinned. "Because I'll hover?"

"Yes! Exactly. You do that enough as it is."

"I promise to behave. But seriously, Bones, if you need to take a sick day or something, don't let me stand in the way of--"

"You're not. And neither is the work. I'll be fine, believe me."

Just a few minutes later, Sid emerged once more from the kitchen with a tray of food. He set a bowl of chicken fried rice and a mug of tea down in front of Tempe, "Rice and tea for the lovely bone doctor..." and then set a plate of orange chicken with lo mein, and a soft drink in front of Booth. "And some chicken and Coke for the G-man."

"Thanks, Sid." Booth nodded his gratitude while Tempe echoed the sentiments with her mouth full, and Sid left them to eat.

Once they had finished and Booth had paid the bill, they remained seated, each sipping at their drinks. Booth checked his watch. "We gotta head back to the lab and see what your squints have for us before we chase that lead I was talking about."

She swallowed the rest of her tea and slowly shook her head. "You'll have to do that without me. I have to go see my editor."

"Oh, that's right." A cheeky grin spread across his face. "About adding in that sex scene between our characters, right?"

She slugged him in the shoulder and he feigned a wince before he chuckled.

* * *

Temperance slowed her car on K Street, keeping her eyes peeled for a parking spot. Once one was found and she had pulled into the space, she cut the engine and sighed to herself, looking out the passenger-side window at the Anderwood Clinic. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths through her nose. Nausea was coming over her again.

She shook her head at herself and told herself that she could do this. She popped open the car door and slowly climbed out, shutting the door and ignoring her trembling knees as she went inside. The perky receptionist did nothing to calm her nerves or her stomach, and Temperance gave a tight-lipped smile. "Appointment for Temperance Brennan."

"Of course. I'll just have you sign in, and you can head to the waiting area."

Tempe nodded, once. "Thank you."

After signing the proper form, she took another deep breath and placed a hand against her still-churning stomach. "Here goes nothing," she whispered, and headed for the waiting room.

* * *

TBC 


	7. Chapter Six: Overload

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER SIX: Overload

* * *

"Where's Dr. Brennan?" was the first question fired at Booth as he entered the Jeffersonian sans his partner.

He didn't even look at the one who voiced the question, Zack Addy, not wanting to make the poor kid think their little 'bonding ritual' was over. He instead walked up to Angela, who was heading toward her office. "Angela!"

She spun at the voice, "Booth, hi! Brenn not with you?"

"She's meeting her editor."

Angela swallowed hard and hoped he wouldn't notice -- she knew where her best friend really was. "Uh, Booth, I need to talk to you."

"Great. That's why I was looking for you. I was hoping you'd have that spiffy holographic thing all keyed up so I could look at the knife angles."

She nodded and grasped the sleeve of his suit jacket between her thumb and forefinger, leading him toward her office. "Yeah, actually... that's not ready yet. There was something else I needed to talk to you about."

Booth, noting that she had closed them inside her office, furrowed his brows warily. "Okay..." He drew the word out and slightly upward, half-questioning. "What's going on?"

"It's about you and Brennan."

"She told you what happened, didn't she?"

Angela shrugged. "More or less, sure. But there's something that's happened that she hasn't told _you... _and I felt, considering the subject matter, that you had a right to know about it. Even though she's gonna be pissed if she finds out I told you."

Now he had grown slightly alarmed. "What's going on? Is she okay?"

She sighed slowly, taking in the stress already hugging Booth's handsome features. She had an obligation to tell him... but then again, if she _did _tell him, not only would her best friend possibly not speak to her again, but the poor man in front of her might also blow a fuse. She closed her eyes a moment and resolved that she had to follow through, and she waved him over to her desk. "You know how Brennan's been kinda sick lately?"

"Yeah. I hope to hell it's not contagious."

"I don't think it is," she assured him, and opened her desk drawer, "because I found this in the garbage can in her office." She slapped the white plastic stick into Booth's upturned palm and waited for the reaction.

It took a few moments for it to set in, from what Angela could see... but when it hit him, it hit hard. "Holy shit. She's pregnant?"

Angela nodded. "Mm-hmm. And I'm assuming it's yours, because let's face it -- Brennan hasn't been seen with any other men lately."

"Pregnant. She's pregnant."

"That's not all."

Booth met Angela's eyes again, his brain already on overload trying to process the last bit of information she'd laid on him. "There's more?"

She passed him the note that had been scrawled on her best friend's desk calendar. "She's not meeting her editor today. She has an appointment at this," she pointed to Brennan's scrawled 'Anderwood', "clinic on K Street."

"Oh, man."

"And there's one last thing you need to know."

Booth closed his eyes painfully. "Angela, I swear, one more and my head is going to explode. This is too much."

"I know. But this is something you absolutely have to know."

He sighed, swallowed hard, and took a moment to mentally prepare himself before giving her the go-ahead. "Alright. What?"

"I looked up this clinic on the internet. They specialize in abortion."

That was the last word Angela could speak before Booth flew out the door. She sighed and shook her head at his exit. "Dammit, Brenn," she whispered to her empty office. "Why the hell are you doing this?"

Booth had raced out of the Jeffersonian at break-neck speed, ignoring Zack and Hodgins not out of a bizarre male-bonding ritual, but simply because he couldn't hear them. He was focused on his partner, and only his partner as he sprinted toward his car, hopped in, and peeled out.

Today was one of the days he was grateful he drove an FBI-issued SUV. He had full access to the lights and sirens of a police vehicle, and today he put them to good use. He reached K Street without causing any accidents, luckily, and he pulled haphazardly into a parking space near the clinic before cutting the engine and jumping out, jogging inside.

"Sir?" A perky receptionist stood to greet him, but he ignored her, running toward the waiting room and completely missing her nagging that he had to sign in.

He was out of breath from the adrenaline rush when he skidded to a stop in the waiting room, just in time to see Temperance emerge with tears in her eyes.

His chin dropped to his chest.

* * *

TBC

* * *


	8. Chapter Seven: Don't Believe

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER SEVEN: Don't Believe

* * *

"Booth?" Her voice shook and she blinked several times in succession, disbelieving he was there... that he had found her. "What are you doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here?" he shouted, pointing at her in an accusatory manner.

Temperance glanced surreptitiously at the stares garnered by Booth's outburst. "Lower your voice, Booth."

"No! I wanna know, first of all, why you didn't tell me about this! Then I wanna know why you decided that this would be the best way to handle it! And THEN--"

She grabbed his arm, hard. "Alright, let's go outside." She had to forcibly drag him toward the exit until his motor skills caught up with him and he yanked his arm out of her grip.

Once outside, he spun to face her, his hands landing on his hips and spreading his suit coat apart -- his patented confrontational stance. "Bones, what the hell do you think you're doing? You think you can just NOT tell me about this, get rid of it, and then pretend that nothing happened!"

"Booth--"

"And I know that you don't wanna have kids and all that crap that I don't even BELIEVE, but how could you do this? Okay, so maybe you're scared! Fine, that's understandable. Maybe you're upset that we weren't more careful! Fine, because you're right -- we should've been more careful. Maybe you were even afraid of how I'd react! That's fine... not understandable seeing how well you know me... but fine. But to KEEP this from me! To go behind my BACK and just erase this like a bad dream? How dare you, Temperance! I thought you had more integrity than that!"

A tear slipped down her cheek of its own volition, though her face bore no other signs of crying. "Booth, listen to me."

"No! I just - God, I am SO mad right now I can barely see straight! I cannot believe, that after everything we've been through, that you couldn't come to me and tell me about this when you found out. I can't believe that I had to hear about it from ANGELA, of all people!" He shook his head and stuffed his hands through his hair, pulling at it along the way. "And then I had to find out that you were getting RID of it! Like a piece of garbage! How could you? Maybe you don't believe in God, maybe you don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but to not believe that you're already carrying a live human being inside of you? I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Booth, dammit!" Her voice broke with tears, which were now streaming down her face. "Just LISTEN to me!"

"What?"

Her voice diminished when she caught the look in his eyes, and she dipped her head. "I didn't do it."

"What?" He took a step closer and forced her chin up, forced her to look him in the eye.

She slapped his hand away, her teary eyes narrowing in anger, and she took a step back as she raised her voice. "I said I DIDN'T do it! I didn't go through with it!"

Booth froze and just stared at her while she swiped angrily at her tears with the back of her hand. His voice lowered and the anger dissipated. "You didn't?"

"No, I didn't!"

"Bones..." He took a couple steps toward her, holding out his hand, and he winced when she slapped it away again.

"Don't 'Bones' me!" She took a few steps back and began digging through her purse, fishing out her keys. "I'm leaving."

"Bo - Temperance, wait! We need to talk about this!"

Tempe threw him a dirty look over her shoulder while she marched to her car. "I think you made yourself quite clear already, Seeley. We have nothing left to talk about."

And before he could apologize, she had sped off, leaving him to once more drop his chin to his chest.

"Shit."

* * *

TBC 


	9. Chapter Eight: Baby Steps

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER EIGHT: Baby Steps  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Everybody who's reviewed this story so far rules. ...that's about all I had to say.

* * *

"You can't keep avoiding him, Brenn."

Temperance rolled her eyes as she finished pulling her lab coat on, flicking her hair out from under the collar. "Good morning to you too, Ange," she sighed, not surprised to hear the click of Angela's boots following her into her office. "Is there any coffee?"

"Yes, but just a little for you, Sweetie. You're not supposed to be having a lot of caffeine."

Tempe gave her best friend a look over her shoulder while starting to pull her hair back. "Since when are you an expert on pregnancy?"

"Well, though I love you, I know that you are not going to be 'boning up', so to speak, on what to do during a pregnancy, so..." She reached into the large bag that currently served as her purse and fished out a thick book: 'What To Expect When You're Expecting.' "I took the liberty of picking this up, and I read through it for you this weekend."

Tempe couldn't help but chuckle. "Ange..."

"It was no big deal, really." She grinned. "Plus, it was kinda fun seeing the look on Trevor's face when he saw me reading it in bed." She handed the book over to her friend. "If, for some reason, you _want_ to do some research on this fun, body-altering journey you're about to embark on... here is your research material."

"Thanks." She took the book with a small smile and set it on her desk, turning back to her friend when she heard her sigh.

"So how long has it been since you and Booth have spoken?"

"Two weeks, almost. He took a case out in Oregon and I haven't heard from him since."

"Well no offense, Sweetie, but this little mini-breakup is your fault."

At this, Tempe's eyes widened. "HE was the one that tracked me down at the clinic and chewed me out for something I didn't even do! He's the one that criticized my integrity and my intelligence! And YOU'RE the one that told him where to find me and what was going on! If anything, I should still be mad at you, too!"

"First of all, yeah that was semi-bastard-ish for him to yell at you like that, but to play devil's advocate, he was under the impression that you were getting an abortion at the time. And you know what kind of person Booth is, Sweetie. You have to know that would make him mad." She ducked her head slightly. "And you have every right to be mad at _me_ for telling him, but in my defense, I felt that I had an obligation to let him know what was going on. I mean, it was _his_ child too, and_ I _was also under the impression that you were going to get rid of it. Whether you went through with it or not, he had to know. And you know that."

Tempe sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"And... just for my own curiosity, why didn't you go through with it? I mean, you've been saying forever that you don't want kids."

"I don't. I still don't. But..." She shook her head, leaning against her desk slightly. "I went there, I was already in the room waiting for the doctor. I had been ready for it since I found out I was pregnant. I was certain I was going to abort as soon as I saw that positive sign on the pregnancy test. But... as I was waiting there, for some reason I just got suddenly... protective. I got this primal urge to... shelter it."

Angela nodded sagely. "It's called maternal instinct, Sweetie. It's inborn. You should know that."

"And I do. I just never really believed in it. Until then. When I was waiting in that room and that doctor came in, I knew what was going to happen. I knew that doctor was going to kill my baby, and I just... bailed. I-I started crying, and I bailed. That's when I ran into Booth and he started yelling at me."

"You should talk to him."

Tempe shook her head resolutely. "No. No, he said plenty to me outside the clinic. I don't want to hear anymore. He said all those things and then... when he found out I was still pregnant, he just-just thought he could make all those words go away. That he could erase them like magic and we could have some big, cinematic talk and that everything would right itself. That's not how it works, and I needed him to understand that."

"And I'm sure he does understand that, Sweetie. But..." Angela pointed to her best friend's abdomen and just barely smiled when she saw her hand instinctively cover it. "That baby? That baby that you didn't want, that you still don't want and don't know how to handle? That is Booth's baby, too." She shook her head. "Don't do to him what his other child's mother did."

"Parker." Tempe closed her eyes. "I'm just as awful as Rebecca, aren't I?"

Angela managed a supportive smile, and shook her head slowly. "Not if you talk to him."

* * *

Booth finished depositing files in the cabinet behind his desk, slamming the drawer shut a little harder than he'd intended. He'd been slamming things quite a bit harder than necessary these days. For two weeks, in fact. When a knock sounded on his office door behind him, he lifted his head without turning around and barked, "Whatever it is, I'm busy! Check back with me tomorrow."

"Hi."

He spun at the familiar alto voice with his hands on his hips, and they drifted back down to his sides. He met the beautiful blue eyes he'd been deprived of seeing for two weeks, then ducked his head, voice quiet as he responded, "Hi."

Temperance lingered in the doorway, hands in her pockets as she leaned on the door frame, glancing around Booth's office as if she'd never been there before. "I don't know why I'm here."

He eyed her through his lashes, head still lowered. "I don't, either. Last we saw each other, you felt that we had nothing left to say to one another."

She sighed heavily through gritted teeth, balling her hands into fists inside her pockets before drawing them out, opening her palms and then raising them in the air. "I don't know why I even... you can be so... I'll just... I'm leaving. Forget I came here." She shook her head and turned to leave.

"Temperance, wait!" He maneuvered quickly around his desk and lunged toward the door, gently seizing her elbow.

She kept her head bowed as she let him turn her around. She knew he'd follow. She looked up then, into his apologetic sable eyes, and wanted to reach for him. She held back.

"Temperance, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." He looked down as his hand slipped from her elbow, downward to grasp hers. "And I'm..." He met her eyes again. "I'm really, really sorry about--"

She nodded. "I know."

"I should've heard you out before I jumped to conclusions, but--"

She cracked the barest hint of a smile. "It's in your nature to jump to conclusions."

Booth tilted his head, widening his eyes slightly at her as he mirrored her smile. "Was that a joke at my expense, Bones? You're back in your element."

They shared a brief chuckle before their smiles faded and their eyes locked once again. Tempe shifted her weight while Booth jingled his keys in his pockets. His gaze drifted toward her abdomen, and he nodded toward it. "How are you feeling?"

Tempe's hand once again fluttered to her abdomen, covering it. "I'm fine."

He tilted his head again, this time giving her a look. "Bones..."

She shrugged. "Well, other than the fact that I throw up every single morning, I really am fine, Booth."

"What, um..." He reached out to her and she didn't move away. The backs of his fingers brushed her abdomen lightly before retreating back to his side. "What made you change your mind?"

Tempe opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again and released a smile, nodding toward the exit. "Take me to lunch."

Booth raised his eyebrows, but obeyed, settling his hand on the small of her back while he guided her out the door. "Does this mean that we -- the partnership, everything else -- are okay?"

She sighed. "We'll take everything one day at a time, Booth."

He grinned. "So we'll take baby steps."

"I don't know what that means."

His laugh echoed in the hallway as they waited for the elevator. "Oh, Bones... I missed you."

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**MORE Author's Notes: **Subsequent updates may not be quite as speedy as these last few have been, as I've got a ton of fics I need to work on right now ('Nothing Personal' IS one of them, in case anyone was wondering). I've got some CSI fics I should try to finish up as well as some O.C. fics... so keep in mind that while Bones is my primary source of inspiration these days, I've also got tons of other stuff that needs attention, too :D And you guys still rule because I know you'll be understanding._


	10. Chapter Nine: Cutting Slack

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER NINE: Cutting Slack

* * *

Booth had said they'd take baby steps. And, after he explained the concept to her, they did just that. They resumed their professional relationship with the decision to momentarily put their personal relationship on hold. There was still a lot to process, for both of them.

It was now nearly two months into Tempe's pregnancy, as she had decided. If her calculations were correct, she was set to have the baby in December. And though she still hadn't warmed to the idea of motherhood, she was no longer completely against it. She just simply did not want to be a mother.

She reapplied her makeup for the third time in the bathroom at the Jeffersonian, making sure to add more blush to hide the pallor in her face from throwing up. She looked up, at the reflection of the door, as a reflection of Angela came through it wearing a sympathetic smile. "Hey, Sweetie."

"Hi. Are those sketches finished?"

"Yeah. Booth's looking at 'em right now. He wanted me to come in and check on you."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell Booth that I'm not made of porcelain and that I can handle this on my own."

"What did I tell you about having a hot knight in FBI-issue body armor, honey? Let Booth fuss over you a little bit, at least."

"Why?"

"Because you're carrying his baby," Angela sighed, and threw her hands up in a shrug. "And, because he's a man and he's clueless, and I would bet that he's never gone through a pregnancy with someone before."

Tempe shook her head. "Rebecca wouldn't talk to him until after Parker was born."

"See? So, cut him some slack. He's never been through this before, and neither have you. It wouldn't hurt anything to lean on each other, and learn together."

"God, I feel like I'm fifteen again! I just found another pimple."

Angela chuckled at the very un-'Brennan'-like comment to escape the anthropologist's lips. "That's normal, honey. The book said that pregnancy increases oil secretions... that, plus the hormones coursing through you? You're liable to get a few pimples. Just relax. The book also said that'll most likely go away after your first trimester."

"Good." She finished sticking her makeup back in her makeup bag, and started for the door.

Angela, predictably, followed on her heels. "So today's your first 'big' doctor's appointment, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Is Booth going?"

Tempe threw a look toward where Booth stood in the middle of the forensics center and was not at all surprised to find his eyes already on her. Though he'd kept a respectable distance the past few weeks, his eyes were never far from her; under any other circumstance, she would badger him for this, but for some reason she found it sweet. And Angela was right... she needed to cut him some slack.

"I, uh... I haven't asked him--"

"Sweetie!"

"--yet," she finished with a sigh, giving her friend a look.

"Sorry. It's a reflex, scolding you about Booth."

Tempe chuckled just slightly and strode through her office door, setting her makeup bag on her desk. "Yeah, I noticed."

* * *

"Thanks, Sid." Tempe smiled at her favorite restaurateur as she was handed a cup of tea, then she turned to her partner. "Booth--"

"Bones, you're not getting anything for lunch?" He sounded surprised. "You need to eat, come on. Let Sid make you something."

"Don't coddle me, Booth. I had a sandwich in my office."

"Alright, then." He tilted his head to the side and studied her while she sipped at her tea. "Now what did you want to say?"

She lowered her voice slightly, keeping in mind that the information she was about to share with him was still considered confidential. "I have a doctor's appointment today. And... I'd like you to come with me."

He stared at her a moment before a slow, genuine smile spread across his face. "I'd be honored." He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, eyes sparkling their gratitude for his inclusion.

Tempe smiled back and gave his hand a squeeze in return. So far, the 'baby step' idea seemed to be working.

* * *

TBC 


	11. Chapter Ten: Fifty Fifty

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER TEN: Fifty-Fifty

* * *

"Appointment for Temperance Brennan," Booth told the receptionist while he watched his partner scuttle off to use the bathroom once again. He signed them in and headed for the waiting room, keeping his eye on the bathrooms. When he saw her emerge, he sent her his charm smile, and she glared while she made her way over to him.

"Alright, that's the last time I drink an entire cup of tea in fifteen minutes," she sighed, lowering herself into the chair at Booth's left.

He grinned. "Isn't it normal for you to be going to the bathroom a lot right now? Because your uterus is kinda sitting on your bladder?" The widened eyes she sent his way caused him to chuckle, and he voiced her unasked question. "Angela picked up a book for me."

"She's picking up pregnancy manuals for everybody now?" she asked rhetorically, a chuckle escaping. "Next thing you know, she'll have books picked out for Goodman and Zack and Hodgins so _everybody_ knows how to deal with me."

"Do they know about this?" he asked, picking up a copy of Highlights and delving right in to the word-find.

Tempe made a face briefly at his choice of waiting room reading material, which he couldn't see her do, before she shook her head. "Not yet. From what Angela's said, there can be a lot of complications in the first trimester, so it's best to wait until I'm in my second."

"Good idea."

"But obviously if I start to show soon, I'll have to tell them. I mean, Goodman's my boss, and Zack and Hodgins aren't stupid."

"What are you going to tell them?" He set the magazine down, spine up, in his lap, and turned his full attention on her.

"That I'm... pregnant?" She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is there something else I should be telling them?"

"Won't there be some question as to who the father is?"

"Well, that's none of their business, and I don't see any of them asking anyway. Zack and Hodgins probably could make an educated guess. Or they could ask Angela."

Both partners looked up as Tempe's name was called and they rose, Booth settling his hand on the small of her back as he guided her inside.

* * *

"Alright, Temperance, I'll have you lie back and pull your shirt up," the doctor instructed, and turned on what looked to Booth and Tempe like a computer monitor.

"Why?" Tempe asked, wary of the instruction to pull her shirt up, but still lying back as she was told.

Booth too, was looking to the doctor for an answer as he stood beside the examination table. The doctor smiled at both of them. "I'm going to be doing an ultrasound to make sure that everything is okay with the baby. We'll also be listening to the baby's heartbeat today. Now if you'll pull your shirt up for me, Temperance, we can begin."

Tempe now did as she was told without question, hiking the shirt up to just under her bra line. She jumped as the doctor squirted a clear jelly onto her stomach, and Booth flinched in response. When she noticed this, she looked up at him and gave a slight, reassuring smile, trying not to chuckle at the look in his eyes.

This man, her tough-guy-cop partner, former army sniper, looked absolutely terrified at what was going on. "Booth, relax," she reminded him.

He cleared his throat and glanced away. "Sorry."

Both partners watched, then, as the doctor began to move a wand over her stomach, gliding it this way and that, while keeping an eye on the monitor. "Okay, everything is looking good. The baby appears to be healthy, developing at the right pace..."

Tempe tilted her head as she pointed to the monitor suddenly and asked, "What is that?"

"That?" The doctor pointed to a small, peanut-shaped gray object, and smiled as Booth, too, leaned in and squinted his eyes to see it. "That is your baby."

Booth raised his eyebrows. "That's it? Shouldn't it be, y'know... a little more baby-shaped?"

The doctor grinned at Tempe. "I take it this is his first time attending a sonogram."

While Booth looked away, suddenly embarrassed, Tempe nodded her own response. "Yes."

"No problem. I can explain as we go along. Agent Booth, what you're seeing is a still-developing embryo. The ears, eyes, and nose on the face of the child are just starting to appear." She pointed to the screen. "If you squint, you can see the beginning of the baby's legs and feet, and you might just barely be able to make out some fingers. Those will be starting to develop now, too."

Tempe shifted to the side when Booth stepped right up to the monitor, blocking her view. She couldn't see his face, but smiled when she heard his awed, "Wow."

The doctor chuckled. "Now we'll do an ultrasound."

While she prepared the next step, Tempe and Booth shared a look. Booth raised his eyebrows at her, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Still don't want to have a baby after seeing that?"

She tilted her head. "Booth... it's not as simple as--"

Both of them paused as a sound began to reverberate in the room, an odd sort of thumping that sounded somewhat like the galloping of a horse. When Tempe saw Booth look around the room for the source of the noise, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Booth..."

He looked to the doctor. "What is that?"

"That? That's the baby's heartbeat, Agent Booth."

Booth exhaled a smile of awe, looking to his partner. She smiled back, fighting the tears that were coming oddly fast, at seeing the look on his face. The doctor watched both of their reactions a moment before turning off the monitors and rising from her stool. "I'm going to go make a copy of the sonogram for you to keep, Temperance. I'll be right back to prescribe some prenatal vitamins for you, then."

She nodded. "Thank you, doctor."

When they were alone, Booth spun to face his partner. "Okay. Bones, you cannot possibly tell me that, after seeing what you saw, and hearing what you heard, that you would not want this baby. I mean... come on!"

"Booth, as I tried to say before, it's not as simple as just..." She finished cleaning off her abdomen and slowly sat up, pulling her shirt back into place as she shrugged. "Wanting it or not wanting it."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't want to discuss it."

He sighed. "I just... I can't believe that you aren't the least bit excited about this, now. Nervous, even. Just give me an emotion, Bones! I'll take just about anything at this point." He stepped up to her and slid his hands over her abdomen, not stepping back when she looked to him in surprise. "See this, Bones?" He rubbed her stomach. "This is an amazing thing. This is you and me. Okay? Us."

Booth looked down at where his hands covered her and she followed his gaze. "This is us, fifty-fifty. Everything _I've_ ever been through, everything _you've_ ever been through... everything _we've_ ever been through _together_... it's all in there. Don't you find that amazing?"

Tempe sighed, searching his face through her lashes.

* * *

She never answered him, and could tell this frustrated him just a bit. The car ride back to the lab was silent, and Booth had quite the grip on the steering wheel the entire way. She finally broke the silence with a sigh through her nose. "You're mad at me."

"I'm not mad," he immediately insisted.

"You're annoyed."

"Not annoyed, either, Bones, but if you keep it up I will be."

She shook her head and looked out the passenger side window. "What do you want me to say, Booth? Do you want me to lie and say that it's the most miraculous thing I've ever experienced? Do you want me to say that I'm so thrilled I want to run out and start buying... booties and bibs and blankets?"

"Oh my."

Tempe looked to him sharply. "I _am _familiar with _that _pop-culture reference, though it was made at a completely inappropriate time."

"I'm sorry."

They pulled into the parking lot at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab and Booth threw the car in park, unbuckling his belt and turning to face her as a signal that he wanted to continue the conversation. "Bones, I just... I just want to know what's holding you back on this." His head was lowered, and she couldn't tell what his eyes were focused on as he asked, almost timidly, "Is it me?"

"What?"

Booth looked up and met her eyes then, his expression solemn. "Is it me, Temperance. Are you not wanting this because I'm the... the baby's--"

"No, Booth. It's not because it's you, and you should know that after what we've been through. And before anything ever happened between you and I, you were well aware that I _do not_ want to have children."

"There has to be a reason that you don't."

"Why?"

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Because, you can't just not want children for the sake of not wanting children. There has to be an underlying reason why you're resistant to the idea."

"No, there doesn't have to be. And I'm exiting the car, now, Booth." She began to open the door.

Booth grabbed her left wrist, holding her gaze when she looked to him in surprise. "Sooner or later you're going to have to tell me why you don't want this. And sooner or later, you're going to have accept the fact that this is going to happen. Whether you want it or not, this baby is coming, Temperance. And the sooner you resolve whatever issues you have with this, the sooner we can work on giving this baby the kind of life it deserves."

Tempe swallowed, hard, at the look in his eyes, and extracted her wrist from his strong grip before climbing out of the SUV and slamming the door, heading back into the lab.

* * *

TBC 


	12. Chapter Eleven: Ablaze

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Ablaze

* * *

"Sweetie, take your vitamin."

"I was about to, and would you get off my back?"

Angela raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry." Under her breath, she muttered, "Looks like I woke the beast."

Tempe glared. "What?"

"Nothing. So Booth's making you dinner tonight?"

She sighed. "Yes."

"Does that make it a date?"

"No, Angela, it's not a date." Tempe rose to her feet after downing her prenatal vitamin with a swig of water, and she headed for the door.

Angela nodded slowly. "Right. Of course not. I mean... you guys are having a baby together, so why rush things by going on a date?"

"Was that sarcasm?" Tempe glanced at her friend over her shoulder.

"Yes, Sweetie, that was sarcasm. That was me, making a joke to cover up how disapproving I am that you and Booth have not jumped each other since the fated conception."

"What do you want us to do?" She threw her hands up, exaggerating her shrug, as she fell in line beside and then behind her friend on the way toward the Angelator.

"_Other_ than jump each other?" Angela questioned with raised eyebrows, and entered her own office to boot up her mainframe. She spun to face her best friend. "Talk. Be open with each other and discuss making some sort of a commitment, for the sake of your baby."

"Are you saying you want me to marry Booth? I shouldn't be with him just because we're having a baby together."

Angela nodded. "You're right. You shouldn't. You should be with him because you love him. Because you're _meant_ to be with him."

"Okay, if you're going to get into your star-crossed-lovers diatribe again, I'm leaving."

"I'm sorry, honey. It just kills me sometimes how perfect you guys are for each other, and you can't even see it."

"Ange..."

She nodded. "Shutting up now. We'll talk about something else." She grabbed her stylus and her touch-pad computer, sending a grin toward her friend after a moment. "So what's he making you for dinner?"

Tempe rolled her eyes.

* * *

"You really didn't have to make dinner for me, Booth," she commented, finishing wiping her mouth with her napkin before discarding it on her now-empty plate.

Booth smiled at her from across the small dining table. "I know I didn't _have to_, Bones." He rose and grabbed their plates off the table, nodding toward his living room. "Go on and take a seat. I'm just going to stick these plates in the dishwasher and then I'll be right out."

She did as he bade, heading into the living room and sitting down on his couch. It felt odd, just for a moment, for her to be making herself comfortable in Booth's home. Though it wasn't that long ago that it was _he_ making himself comfortable in _her_ home. She never would have admitted it then, but there had been something oddly... right... about seeing Booth, dressed casually, standing in her home and rummaging through her CD collection.

She didn't have much more time to process what that meant as Booth made his way over to her with a beer in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He extended the water to her with one of his 'charm' smiles. "Drink up. You need to stay well-hydrated."

Tempe couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I can't decide who's more of a pest with this whole pregnancy thing -- you or Angela." When he sat down beside her on the couch, she gave him a look as she added, "And I don't have the flu, Booth. I'm pregnant."

"Hydration is still a very important part of pregnancy." He nodded once, as if that alone would make his point sound better.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Your book tell you that?"

Booth kept his eyes away from hers as a slight pink tinged his cheeks. His voice was low, almost a mumble, as he replied, "Maybe."

She chuckled. "You and Angela make quite the pair. So much reading is being done between the two of you that I probably won't even need to pick up the book. Matter of fact, you two could probably deliver the baby yourselves when the time comes."

Booth's brows flicked upward briefly. "No thank you. I'd prefer to leave that to the professionals."

"So would I."

They shared a look, and then simultaneously cracked a smile. After a moment, Booth sighed. "So Bones... can I ask?"

"What?" She angled her body toward him slightly and watched him mirror the move.

"I'm sure this is a touchy subject for you, and I know you've said you don't want to discuss it, but..."

"You want to know why I don't want to have a baby."

He held her gaze. "Yes. I mean, is it because of what we do? Is it because we spend our days -- and a lot of our nights, for that matter -- chasing leads and catching murderers?"

She tilted her head slightly. "It's partly that, and--"

"Because if I had to make a choice, Bones -- FBI agent or father -- I'd choose father in a heartbeat. And I hope you know that."

"I do." She nodded. "But it's not just that, Booth. It's complicated."

Booth watched as she lowered her head, gaze falling to her lap where she picked imaginary lint off her jeans. He twitched a sympathetic smile that went unseen, before he reached over and placed one finger beneath her chin, lifting her eyes to his once more. His nod was knowing, voice soft as he asked, "It's because of your parents... isn't it?"

Tempe blinked rapidly, a rush of gray water suddenly accumulating in her eyes. She turned her head away from Booth's touch and chuckled tearfully, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. "These damn hormones. I hate this."

"Temperance..."

Her rarely spoken first name drew her eyes back to his, and when they locked in a stare she noted the deep concern and empathy in his. He spoke low, and deliberately, almost as if reciting a well thought-out monologue. "You will never know how sorry I am that you had to go through such a tragedy at such a young age. You will never know how often I wish that I could bring them back to you... _for_ you. But what you have to know is, you can't let what happened effect you forever. Of course it will always have an impact. How could it not? But Temperance..."

She tilted her head down and he leaned forward, tucking back the slice of her hair that concealed her eyes from his gaze. "Temperance, you can't let the tragedy from the past destroy what's in your future. Okay?" He slid his palm over her abdomen and smiled tenderly when she looked up at him. "This baby deserves a chance. It deserves a chance to be loved. And you deserve a chance at motherhood."

Tempe chuckled grimly, shaking her head in the negative but allowing Booth to wipe the tears that had silently fallen. "I don't know how to be a mother."

"You're right, you don't. Because you've never been one before, and because it's not something you can get from a book." He chuckled. "First time I held Parker? I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

She turned to look at him as he stared through the coffee table, reliving the memory with a smile. "I had this tiny little bundle in my arms, and... that was the first time I was terrified. I was holding this helpless little human being and knew that I had the power to either give him a great life or mess it up completely."

He rubbed her abdomen unconsciously and Tempe looked down to watch the motion, momentarily fascinated. She took his hand in hers then and squeezed it, noting he never took his eyes off the coffee table as he lifted their joined hands up, slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her against him. She didn't have the heart to fight him.

"I was terrified of being a father. And it didn't help much having the mother of my first child hate me, but... I learned how to make it work. The whole thing. I learned how to change a diaper and warm up a bottle. I learned how to put on one of those Snugli things..."

"I don't know what that means."

He chuckled and pulled her tighter against him, winding his arm around her front and laying it across her collarbone, rubbing her arm. "You'll learn just like I did. The whole thing is a learning experience, Temperance. None of us are prepared for it, some of us don't even _want_ to be prepared for it, but we learn to be."

"_You_ won't have anything to learn. You already know all of this."

He shook his head. "That's not true. I've never gone through a pregnancy with someone before. This is a whole new learning experience for me. And at least I'm going through it with someone that will let me be near her... that doesn't hate me."

Tempe stroked his arm unconsciously, voice soft as she assured him, "I could never hate you, Booth."

"I'm glad you feel that way," he murmured, daring to kiss the back of her head while he leaned back on the couch.

She let herself relax against him, resting the back of her head against his chest. She looked down and realized she was still stroking his arm. She started to pull back, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips. She stiffened slightly and then felt his lips, his smile more specifically, against the back of her head.

"I'm not going to pounce on you, Bones. Just relax." After a pause, he added, "And keep in mind that I've been a lot further with you than this."

Tempe whacked his stomach with the back of her hand. "You're a pig."

"I know," he sighed. He turned serious, then, as he craned his neck slightly to look down at her. "But I hope you know that I'd never force you into anything you weren't ready for."

She was back to stroking his arm again. "I do know that." She gently extracted herself from his arm, lifting it off of her as she turned to face the disappointment on his features. She smiled to reassure him, before she added, "But you're right. We _have_ been a lot further, I mean... it's not like it would hurt anything if maybe we... kissed?" Her face was all innocence as she shrugged, blue eyes beguiling. "We'd still be taking baby steps, wouldn't we?"

Booth noted the miniscule twitch of her lips -- what he always secretly referred to as the 'Bones-smirk' -- and his own lips quirked in response. He nodded, feigning seriousness. "Absolutely." He reached out then and slipped his hand beneath her hair, around the back of her neck, and began to pull her in. "Baby steps all the way."

"Good." Her voice dropped to a whisper as their lips neared, "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Oh," his lips just barely stroked hers... teased them, "me too."

Then their lips met. It was that fateful night all over again -- the night they'd fallen into her bed. The kiss started, and didn't stop. Tempe knew, after the first five or ten -- maybe twenty, even -- minutes passed, that she should stop the kiss. That she should pull away and head home for the night. There was no need to rush things, and they had promised each other their relationship would take baby steps.

But she hadn't expected the mere touch of Booth's lips on hers could set her ablaze a second time. She had been so certain that was a one-time thing, attributed both to the close calls they'd had, and the fact that it was their first kiss. This second one, however, put the first to shame. If anything, the feelings were intensified ten-fold now that she was carrying his child.

As the first time, they headed for the bedroom without breaking the powerhouse kiss... only this time, they didn't tumble into bed. Booth scooped her up in his arms and carried her like a prince carrying his princess over the threshold. Tempe's struggle against him was only half-assed, her wildly-skipping heart inciting her to just enjoy the feeling.

He laid her out on the bed and crawled over her, their lips never ceasing to touch. He rolled them onto their sides, mindful of putting too much weight on her. They unbuttoned each other's shirts blindly, still mid-kiss as they smiled against each other's lips. Baby steps be damned. This was what they both wanted. They could worry about taking things slow some other time. Tonight, what they needed was each other -- and they both knew this.

They finally broke the kiss as they sat up, keeping the connection with their foreheads while both struggled out of their shirts and tossed them aside. Their lips found each other once again, then, as Tempe scooted back against the pillows and Booth carefully crawled over her. He turned out the light beside the bed and blanketed them in darkness for the rest of the night.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES**: I know this is a huge update. I didn't intend it to be, but I got this chapter done so quickly, and... I figured you guys wouldn't mind_ **too **_much ;)_


	13. Chapter Twelve: That Glow

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER TWELVE: That Glow

* * *

"Get out! You guys did it again?"

Temperance held up a finger to signal Angela to wait while she took her vitamin with a swig of water. After she had swallowed the capsule, she nodded. "Yes."

Angela's excited squeal was enough to send Tempe out of her chair and toward the door to close it. "I cannot believe this!" Angela gushed, watching as her friend turned back around to face her. She grinned, "So what happened to the 'baby steps' plan? And Sweetie, you're totally glowing."

"We put that plan on hold, apparently," she replied, then reached up to touch her face, "And I am?"

"Yes." Angela's grin grew devilish as she added, "Although, I can't tell if it's a pregnancy glow, or an 'I-got-laid-lastnight' glow. They both look very similar."

"I'm sorry." Tempe was still busy touching her -- what she assumed to be -- flushed cheeks.

Angela chuckled. "Sweetie, it's not something to apologize for! It looks great on you, trust me. So, have you guys talked about this?"

"He'd already left for work when I woke up this morning," she sighed, sifting through her e-mails haphazardly. "He left a note with a bagel saying 'we'll talk later.'"

"'Later'? When would that be?" Angela grinned again. "After more sex?"

Tempe rolled her eyes and clicked out of her inbox, swerving her chair around to face her friend. "Lastnight was a fluke thing, and--"

"'Heat-of-the-moment'?" Angela raised her eyebrows. "Sure it was." She plopped onto the couch, ignoring the reproachful look Brennan sent her way. "So how was it the second time around? Steamy and passionate? Or gentle and loving?"

Tempe shrugged. "Somewhere in between, I guess."

"Hot. Very hot. Do it again."

"What? No, we're going to slow down. That's what we discussed doing in the first place."

Now it was Angela's turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, and look how well that worked for you guys." After getting another look shot at her, she conceded, throwing up her hands. "Sorry. So when's your next doctor's appointment?"

"Not for another two weeks. I'm supposed to go once a month for the first six months... then more frequently after that."

"How's the morning sickness?"

"Almost non-existent, at this point." She reached for her bottle of water and looked at it almost disdainfully before unscrewing the cap. "I'm getting sick of all this water, though. I want coffee."

"Ask and you shall receive," came a voice from the doorway.

Tempe and Angela spun to see a rather chipper-looking Hodgins leaning against the doorframe, holding out two Starbucks cups with a grin. Angela chuckled. "What's with you, Hodge-Podge? Get some action lastnight?"

He strutted into the office and handed one cup to each of his colleagues. "Why yes, I did. And apparently, I'm not the only one." He turned then and looked pointedly at Brennan.

Her eyes widened. "What!"

He chuffed. "Oh, please. That look on your face just reeks of sexual gratification."

Angela nearly spit out her coffee. "Hodgins..."

Hodgins threw his hands up in a shrug, feigning innocence. "What? You tell me, then. What's that glow from if not sex?"

Angela's eyes flicked toward Brennan's ever-so-briefly before she addressed Hodgins. "Look, I know you men love to screw-and-tell, but we aren't like that."

He raised his eyebrows at her before turning to Brennan with a grin. He pointed over his shoulder at Angela. "This coming from the woman who announces every time she's leaving work for sex."

Angela rolled her eyes and shoved her curly-haired co-worker toward the door. "Get out, Hodgins. Don't you have bugs and slime to play with?"

"Why yes I do." He made his way toward the door, spinning around once he was in the doorway. "You ladies have a wonderful morning, and," he pointed toward the cup of coffee in Brennan's hand, "drink up! It's Sumatra blend!"

After he made his exit, Angela and Tempe chuckled and shook their heads in unison. Angela stared at his path of retreat and sighed. "He's such an ass, but God help me... I actually get a kick out of him."

Tempe grinned in response as she took the lid off her coffee and blew on it, raising it to her lips...

"Bones! What the hell are you doing?"

She nearly spit out the sip she'd taken, startled at Booth's sudden presence. While Angela turned to hide her smile, Tempe raised her eyebrows at her partner. "I'm... having a cup of coffee?"

"We talked about this. You're not supposed to."

"Believe it or not, Booth, I actually cracked open that pregnancy book this morning, and guess what it said?"

His suit coat spread as his hands landed on his hips. "Not to listen to the guy that's looking out for you?"

She tilted her head. "No. It said that moderate amounts of caffeine are okay. So before you wig out on me again, consult the book."

Booth made a face. "'Wig out'?"

Tempe looked to her best friend for reassurance. "Did I use it wrong?"

Angela shook her head and chuckled at the nearly-crestfallen look on her friend's face. "No, Sweetie. That was right. Good job."

Tempe nodded once, and sent a smug look toward Booth, who shook his head and rolled his eyes.

* * *

"G-man and the bone lady!" Sid greeted them with a grin from behind the bar at Wong Foo's.

Tempe and Booth smiled before sliding onto their usual stools. "We're here for lunch, Sid," Booth told him.

"Let me take a look at ya and see what will be on the menu..." He gave Booth the up-and-down glance briefly. "G-man's looking pretty happy with himself, so I think I've got an idea of what to bring for you..." He turned his eyes to Tempe and gave her a big smile. "And the lovely bone lady is looking quite radiant, so I know what to bring for her. I'll be right back."

When he disappeared into the kitchen, Booth turned to his partner. "So, did you get my note this morning?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, I did. And Booth, about last night--"

He shook his head and closed his eyes in an almost painful expression. "Let's not do the patented 'about last night' thing, Bones. Please. Let's not chalk it up to being 'in the heat of the moment' or some other stupid excuse like that, and just look at it for what it is -- we both wanted it, we both enjoyed it. The end."

"Okay..." Her eyebrows flicked toward her hairline for a moment.

Booth sighed. "And I know that we agreed to take things slowly, and we still should. We're both still adjusting to this whole..." he gestured toward her abdomen, "thing."

Tempe nodded. "Yeah. All I was going to say is that we should still try to keep taking this slowly. I know neither of us can promise that it won't happen again..." She couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips at seeing the one on his. "But you know what I mean."

"Yes. I think it's safe to say that we are still on the same page."

"Good."

Booth looked over his left shoulder, then his right, for prying eyes, before he leaned close and whispered, "But does taking it slow mean we can't kiss anymore?"

She chuckled. "Well, if last night is any indication..."

"Okay, but what about this kind of a kiss?" He leaned the rest of the way and kissed her lips softly, tenderly... cherishing them with his own before he pulled back. "Is that okay?"

Tempe smiled and bit down on her lip softly. "I suppose those kinds of kisses would be alright, in moderation."

"Good. Then I want one more." He pecked her lips quickly again before sitting bolt upright when Sid came through the door with their food.

"Alright friends, here you go," he announced, setting their meals down in front of them. "Wonton soup for the luminous Dr. Brennan. Very very healthy for you, and... whoever else might be having it with you."

Tempe looked to Sid in surprise and got a wink and a smile in response. She slowly smiled back, and watched as he set another dish in front of her partner. "And here's some beef lo mein for Special Agent Booth. Enjoy."

He disappeared into the kitchen once more and Tempe leaned over to Booth, hissing in his ear, "He knows."

"What? God, this is good." He captured some of the noodles with his chopsticks and brought them to his lips.

"Sid knows that I'm pregnant."

"What?" That time, a chuckle was laced within the question. "Bones, you're crazy. How could he know?"

She shrugged. "How does he know exactly what to bring us to eat? Besides, he hinted at it three times already."

Booth made a face, skepticism ripe in his tone. "When?"

"First he called me 'radiant'... and then 'luminous'... and then you heard what he said about my meal!"

He chuckled. "Bones, that doesn't mean anything."

"Almost forgot your beverages," Sid re-emerged from the kitchen carrying two cups, balanced on saucers. He set the first one down in front of Booth. "Cup of java for you..." He then set the second one down in front of Tempe. "And a decaf cappuccino for you, lovely. It's healthier that way." With one more wink sent her way, then, Sid backed into the kitchen again.

Tempe raised her eyebrows pointedly at Booth. "See?"

Booth just laughed and continued eating his meal.

* * *

TBC 


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Show, and Tell

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Show, and Tell

* * *

Temperance Brennan entered the Jeffersonian one Monday morning with a scowl already firmly in place. Her strides were quick as she headed for her office, nabbing her best friend by the arm on the way and dragging her along for the ride. Angela chuckled and, once inside her friend's office, she yanked her arm out of the vice grip it was in. "Easy, Sweetie. What's going on?"

"You have _got_ to help me!" Tempe's voice was urgent as she tossed her purse onto her desk.

"Okay... and why are you wearing your lab coat already?" Angela tilted her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me you actually take those _home_ with you!"

"This was the first time."

"Okay, why?"

"_This_ is why." She deftly unbuttoned her lab coat and flung it off, whipping it onto her chair and gesturing to her abdomen. "See?"

Angela's grin spread slowly, and her voice was slightly awed. "You're starting to show."

Tempe's eyes were wide as she nodded in agreement. "Yes! I am! You have to help me hide this!"

Angela laughed. "Why?" After giving it a moment's thought then, her mouth made a small 'o' of realization. "You haven't told Goodman yet."

Tempe shook her head. "Or Zack, or Hodgins. Nobody but you and Booth know, and now I'm starting to show and the secret will be out and then--"

"Whoa whoa, honey, slow down. Breathe."

Tempe took a deep breath and sighed it out through her nose, feeling some of the tension leave her body as she asked, more calmly, "Will you help me?"

"Of course I will. Just... keep your lab coat on for now, and then, come lunchtime, we'll hit some stores and I'll pick out some good stuff for you. Okay?"

"Okay," Tempe sighed, smiling in relief. She gave a barely-audible chuckle at her own antics and expressed her gratitude, "Thanks, Ange."

"Sure!" She reached out and wrapped her best friend in a hug, rubbing her back supportively. "That's what I'm here for."

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around, Temperance and Angela drove to the nearest mall and Angela steered her friend right toward the maternity boutique. Tempe shook her head at the items displayed in the window. "Ange, I can't go in there. All those clothes are... huge!"

Angela chuckled. "Sweetie, they have all different sizes of things, all different styles to fit all different stages of your pregnancy. And for now, we're just getting the basics, to hide that mini baby-bump you've got going."

While Angela began to rummage through the racks, Tempe took a look around, observing some of the other women in the store. Several had very rounded bellies, and she covered her own miniscule bump, rubbing it instinctively. She looked up when she caught Angela smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied innocently.

Tempe rolled her eyes. "Out with it, Ange."

"I just... think it's cute how, even though you continue to insist you don't want kids, you continue to rub your stomach. You're connecting with your baby."

"I'm not connecting with anything, Ange. I'm rubbing my stomach."

"Sure. Alright." Skepticism was laced within her tone, and the slight smirk she wore gave away her sarcasm. She blindly handed a soft lavender button-down shirt to her friend while continuing to rummage through the sale racks. "So how are you and Booth doing? That whole 'baby step' thing working out finally? How long's it been since your last sexcapade? Like, a month?"

"Um, no. Not exactly." Tempe pretended to examine the shirt she was given when she felt Angela's eyes on her.

"And just what does that mean? The last time I heard about you and Booth sharing a sheet was a month ago. You mean it's happened again?"

"We're still trying to... adjust to everything."

"Uh-huh." Angela grinned. "Spill, babe. And don't leave anything out."

Tempe couldn't help the smile she gave in response as she shrugged. "There's not a lot to tell. We _have_ been taking it slow for the most part, save for a few... maybe five or six... minor set-backs."

Angela's eyes glittered with barely-suppressed glee. "Oh really?"

Tempe sighed. "Okay, so last week Booth and I are watching a movie at my place. He had come over to check out the house since the kitchen had been redone. We fell asleep together on the couch, and then he put me to bed in the middle of the night."

"Uh-huh...?" Angela handed off another shirt, this one a loose-fitting green peasant top.

"I kind of... didn't let go of him, so he ended up just sleeping at my place for the night, and we woke up together the next morning."

Angela felt as if her face would crack from the sheer size of her grin as she prodded one last time. "And?"

"And..." Tempe averted her eyes to a nearby clothing rack as her voice dropped low, "and that's why I was late last Tuesday."

Angela's guffaw caught the attention of several store employees, not to mention customers, and Tempe clamped a hand over her friend's mouth, shushing her with wide eyes. When she pulled her hand away, Angela's laughter faded to a chuckle. "Sorry honey. But... well, good job! Ride that stallion."

"Ange!"

"What? I think it's great -- this constant-copulation thing you and Booth have going. It doesn't exactly fit in to your whole 'baby-step' regime, but I'll bet it's fun as hell."

Tempe blushed a little at this, and turned away to hide her bashful smile. "Getting back on track, Ange..."

"Right. So you and Booth are doing great, it sounds like. You're, what? Going on four-months-along?" After a nod from her friend, Angela nodded back. "And you have yet to tell Goodman about this whole thing."

"Yes. And I still have no idea how to go about doing that."

Angela shrugged and handed two more shirts off. "Just tell him you need to speak with him for a moment. Then, when you're alone either in his office or yours, drop the bomb. Goodman's a fair man, Brenn. It's not like he'll explode."

"I know, but..."

Angela turned to search her friend's eyes. "You think he'll split you and Booth up?"

"I don't know. I mean, there's no rule forbidding it -- not at the Jeffersonian, anyway. I know there's one at the Bureau about FBI partners getting involved, but--"

"But you're kind of precluded from that."

"Exactly." Tempe handed the shirts back to Angela when she held out her arms, and then followed her up to the cash register.

"Well, so then what's the big deal? There's no rule against it, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Wouldn't you think he'd still frown upon my getting involved with Booth?"

Angela shrugged while handing her credit card over to the cashier. "Well, he may not be thrilled with the idea, but I don't think it's anything he'd frown upon. And actually, I would bet that he's kind of been expecting something like this to happen between the two of you."

Tempe's brow wrinkled in a puzzled expression, and she glanced down at her phone as it began trilling against her hip. She pulled it up, checked the viewing screen, and promptly rolled her eyes. "It's Booth. Probably calling to nag me about having lunch soon."

Angela chuckled and, after putting her credit card away, she held her hand out for the phone. "Let me answer." She grinned when the phone was placed in her palm, and she pressed the green on button before pulling it to her ear and drawling sexily, "Hey, gorgeous." Whatever Booth responded with caused her to bark a laugh, then she replied, "Yeah, your hot blooded, hot mama's right here. You aren't calling to nag her, are you? Because I'm taking her out to lunch." She paused. "Yes, I'll make sure she eats healthy." She giggled then at whatever he'd said. "Okay then, pumpkin," she teased, "I'll tell her. Bye."

She hung up and handed the phone back to Tempe, who was staring at her expectantly. Angela smiled. "Your man wanted me to tell you to call him on your way out of the office tonight. Apparently, he's made plans to take you to dinner."

"Alright," Tempe sighed, "I guess that's acceptable. At least he wasn't nagging."

Angela clipped Tempe's phone to her belt once more, then grabbed the bag of clothes the cashier handed to her. She steered her friend out the door. "To get back to what we were talking about... just talk to Goodman, Sweetie. Just tell him honestly what's going on and everything will be fine. And while we're sort of on the subject..."

Tempe turned to look at her friend and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Can I please tell Zack and Hodgins now?"

Tempe rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the smirk as they left the mall together.

* * *

TBC 


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Apprehension

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Apprehension

* * *

A week had passed and Temperance still had yet to inform her boss of her pregnancy. Currently, she sat in her office, busy typing away on her computer, when Dr. Daniel Goodman himself strolled in. "Good afternoon, Dr. Brennan," he greeted jovially, wearing a smile.

"Afternoon, sir," she greeted in return, her voice holding only slight distraction as she finished the e-mail she'd been composing and hit 'send.' She turned to face him. "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you."

She watched as his eyes drifted toward her stomach, and she suddenly remembered what she'd been doing. She quickly grabbed the headphones off it, as well as the portable CD player that was currently playing a classical CD, and shoved it next to her computer monitor. "Sorry. I had just been listening to music while I was retrieving my e-mail."

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, slowly, with his hands clasped in front of him, and made his way toward the chair across from her desk.

Tempe watched, almost anxiously, as he took his time sitting down. She was aware she probably looked trepidatious, but there was nothing she could do to hide it now. "Sir, is there something I can do for you?"

The shaking of his head was slight, accompanied by a brief pursing of the lips that told Tempe his visit did not pertain to work. He met her eyes briefly, then nodded toward where she had placed her CD player. "You know, my wife used to do the same thing when she was pregnant with the twins. They say it's beneficial to the fetus cognitively to play soft music over the womb."

"Uh... sir..."

Goodman let out a deep chuckle. "Dr. Brennan, you must relax. I'm not here to reprimand you for anything."

"How did you know?"

"I'm a father and a husband, quite simply, Temperance. In this case, your glow was the tell. I intended not to say anything until you came to me with the information. I'll admit, I'm a little hurt that you felt you couldn't tell me sooner."

"Why are you saying something now, then?"

"Well partly because I wanted to be sure. While a glow is a tell, it's not a sure sign. Then, last week, I received confirmation of my suspicions when I noticed that bump you were trying desperately to hide from me."

"Sir, I'm so sorry. I have been meaning to tell you--"

"No worries, Temperance. As a father and a husband, I also understand how many complications can arise during the first trimester. I take it you are now in your second?"

"Yes, sir."

"May I ask how far along you are?"

She nodded with a slight smile. "Fifteen weeks."

Goodman's brows twitched upward, and he smiled. "You're getting close to your amniocentesis, then."

"Yes."

"Are you planning to learn the sex of the baby?"

"I'd like to, but--" She stopped abruptly, midsentence, and promptly closed her mouth. To finish it would not be the best idea. She wanted to learn the sex of the baby, but Booth didn't.

"But what?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I, uh... I decided to wait."

He nodded slowly, but Tempe deflated a little when she noted the look on his face -- he knew there was something else she was hiding from him, and judging by the smile making its way across his face, he knew what the other secret was. "Are you getting excited?"

Tempe shrugged. "It's a baby, how thrilled can I be?"

Goodman tilted his head slightly at this and narrowed his eyes contemplatively. "Well... there's a certain excitement that comes from pending motherhood. You're not looking forward to the birth of your first child?"

"Well..." She trailed off with another shrug, this one facial in nature.

"Are you frightened?"

Another shrug, then she looked toward the doorway, where Booth appeared. He waved and smiled, noting she had company, and gestured that he'd be down the hall. She nodded and turned back to Goodman. "I don't know 'frightened' is the correct word, really."

"Apprehensive, then."

"Yes, I guess you could say I'm a little apprehensive."

"Temperance, I believe you'll make a fine mother. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"My people skills aren't the greatest, sir. You know that."

"I do. But I also know that's not the required skill for motherhood. Besides, it's something you'll pick up along the way. Many first-time mothers are apprehensive, my wife included when she was pregnant with the twins. It's a learning experience."

Tempe smiled brightly and looked toward the doorway, where Booth had appeared again briefly. "That's what I've been told."

"And I'm sure you'll have help. I, or my wife, would be more than willing to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Have you told Ms. Montenegro?"

"Yes, she knows. She knew right away, somehow."

"She's a bright young woman. How about Agent Booth? Have you alerted him of your pregnancy? He is your work partner, after all."

Tempe swallowed and absently toyed with her chunky necklace. "Yes, Booth has been made aware."

"Well, then I'm sure he would help you out in any way he can as well. It is my opinion that Agent Booth would do just about anything for you. All you need to do is ask."

She smiled. "Yes, I know."

"And if you're still apprehensive, spend some time with a child to prepare." Goodman gestured toward the doorway, acknowledging Booth's presence as he appeared for the third time and lingered. "Agent Booth has a son, perhaps you could spend some time with him."

Tempe raised an eyebrow. "Parker?"

Booth took that as his cue to enter the office. "Y'know Bones, I bet you'd have fun with Parker. Maybe we could arrange for you to visit the next time I've got him."

She shook her head immediately. "I don't want to infringe on your time with your son, Booth. You get so little as it is..."

"It's no problem. He'd love you." He turned pink as the last three words left his mouth and he ducked his head, clearing his throat. It had slipped. His mouth had obviously forgotten they were still in the presence of Dr. Goodman.

Goodman just smiled knowingly. "I'm sure he would too, Agent Booth." He glanced between the two of them as he rose to his feet and checked his watch. "Well, I should be going. I've got a meeting with the board of directors in an hour and I need to prepare."

Tempe nodded, and both her and Booth smiled. "Thank you for stopping by, sir," she replied.

"It was my pleasure. And..." He turned in the doorway and gave another slight smile. "Congratulations, to both of you."

Booth and Tempe's eyes widened, and they looked to each other, panicked.

Goodman chuckled at the exchange. "Agent Booth, I'd like it if you and I could schedule a brief meeting around four-thirty today. Are you available?"

Booth, still with wide eyes, nodded slowly. "Yes sir, I am."

"Good. I'll see you in my office at four-thirty."

Goodman then made his exit, leaving Tempe and Booth to exchange worried, and slightly confused, glances behind his back.

* * *

TBC 


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Congratulations

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Congratulations

* * *

"Okay... okay..."

"Booth?"

"Okay... no, here's what we'll do. Okay..."

Tempe rolled her eyes as she placed the headphones over her slightly-rounded abdomen again. "Booth, will you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."

He spun to face her with his hands on his hips, suit coat widespread. A vertical crease appeared between his brows. "You're not the least bit worried about my upcoming meeting with Goodman?"

She shrugged and hit the play button, strains of classical music just barely audible. "Not really, I mean... he seemed okay with it."

"Yeah, _then_. How do you know he's not just playing it cool until he calls me into his office and splits us up?"

"Splits who up?"

Booth and Tempe turned to find Angela in the doorway with Zack and Hodgins behind her. Booth turned away again and Tempe leaned around him to address her 'squint squad.' "Booth and I. Goodman knows."

Angela raised her eyebrows and made her way to Brennan's couch, Zack and Hodgins following with puzzled looks on their faces. Angela took a seat on the couch. "You told him?"

Hodgins plopped down beside her. "Told him what?"

Angela kept her eyes fixed on the partners, who were exchanging glances. Tempe shook her head. "I didn't tell him. He made his own deductions."

"About what?" Zack remained in the doorway, leaning on the metal doorframe.

Tempe looked to Booth, who shrugged with his hands still on his hips. "Might as well tell them," he muttered under his breath.

Hodgins furrowed his brow and looked to Angela, who was still seated directly beside him. He nudged her with the arm that rested against hers. "Are you gonna tell us what the hell's goin' on?"

She shook her head with a smirk, "No," and she nodded toward her best friend. "She is."

Booth sighed, "Just tell them, Bones."

Tempe echoed the sigh, and glanced from Zack's look of innocent confusion, to Booth's raised-brow expression, to Hodgins' expectant grin, and finally to Angela's smirk. She ducked her head and took the headphones off her abdomen, setting them aside while she rose to her feet. She adjusted her shirt against her stomach and waited for the reaction.

Zack let out a gasp while Hodgins' eyes bugged out of his head, and Angela couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Tempe raised her eyebrows and watched as her male 'squints' came toward her slowly. She, too, couldn't help the chuckle that burst past her lips at their humorous expressions. Zack stared in amazement. "Dr. Brennan, you're... pregnant?"

She nodded, slowly, and smiled back when Zack smiled at her. He stepped toward her and held out his arms. "Well... congratulations."

Tempe hugged her young assistant and patted his back. "Thank you, Zack."

Hodgins was still grinning a mile wide, and reached out suddenly to whack Booth in the shoulder. "Way to GO, man!"

Booth shot him a look briefly, followed by an expression of surprise. "Wait, what are you congratulating me for?"

Hodgins rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. As if it could be anyone else."

"So you two are going to have a baby?" Zack questioned. "Like... together?"

Booth's eyebrows flicked upward briefly. "Well you know, Zack, I don't know how much they taught you in sex education class, but it normally takes two people to--"

"I know the semantics," Zack shot back.

Angela clapped her hands together excitedly. "Okay, so everybody knows now! This is great! Can we start picking out baby names?"

Tempe made a face and returned to her chair. "No!" She sat down and placed the headphones over her abdomen again, restarting her CD player.

"Dr. Brennan, what are you doing?" Zack asked curiously.

Hodgins pointed to her, his expression that of recognition. "My cousin's girlfriend used to do that exact same thing. Isn't it beneficial to the baby or something?"

"Yes," Tempe replied simply.

"Oh, God."

Everyone turned to see Booth looking down at his watch. He tapped it and glanced up at his partner. "Four-thirty."

She nodded. "You'd better get up to Goodman's office."

Hodgins' bright blue eyes glittered. "Ooh, is someone in trouble? Can I come and watch whatever horrible thing he's going to do to you?"

Booth closed his eyes. "Bones..."

She took the cue. "Nobody's in trouble, Jack. Goodman just requested a meeting with Booth. That's all."

"Maybe he'll split the two of you up," Zack offered.

When Booth spun to face the youngun looking like he wanted to take out his gun, Tempe jumped in once again. "Nobody is being split up and nobody is in trouble. Zack, have you finished cleaning those bones like I asked you to do?"

"No..."

She nodded toward the door. "Then you'd best get back to work. Jack? Have you finished analyzing those particulates from our victim?"

"No, and I'll take that as my cue to leave before I suffer bodily harm." Hodgins clapped Zack on the back of the neck and practically shoved him out the door in front of him.

"Angela--"

"I got nothin' to do, Sweetie, so I'm hanging out here. Hey, you should play Foreigner for your fetus! That would be so cute."

Booth glanced to his partner questioningly. "You told her about Foreigner?"

Instead of answering, she pointed toward the door. "Dr. Goodman doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Fine, fine, I'm going." He took one step and spun back around. "Dinner? Later?"

She nodded and glimpsed quick at Angela, who was listening intently with a grin on her face. "Of course," she responded after a moment.

"Good." He leaned toward her a moment as if he wanted to kiss her, then, upon catching her minute head-shake, he shook his own. His cheeks pinked then as he ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "goodbye," while heading out the door.

Angela chuckled as she watched his retreat. "Sometimes he is the hottest man on the entire planet and it makes you want to just tear his clothes off."

"Ange!"

"You didn't let me finish. And then other times, he is just so damned cute you want to pinch his cheeks and call him precious."

Tempe rolled her eyes and shut off her CD player for good, rising to her feet as she put it away. "I'm leaving now."

Angela just laughed and made herself comfortable on her best friend's sofa, reaching for a nearby magazine.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Apologies to all for not having as much time as I would like to respond to all your wonderful reviews. In my defense, it's not entirely my fault. You guys are just sending so darn many, it's hard to keep up :P hehe. So I'd like to thank you all for still showing an interest in this story and for leaving reviews. They are always greatly appreciated._


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Fatherly Ways

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Fatherly Ways

* * *

"Agent Booth, come in." Dr. Goodman waved the federal agent inside his office and gestured toward the plush leather chairs opposite his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Booth nodded and did as he bade, sitting down a bit apprehensively in the armchair and leaning forward, propping his elbows on each of the arms and clasping his hands between him.

Goodman, noting the agent's posture, chuckled a bit. "Relax, Agent Booth."

"I have to admit sir, I'm a little nervous."

"Nervous?" Goodman tilted his head and propped his own elbows up on the arms of the chair, templing his hands in front of him. "Whatever for?"

"Well, you know, because you... you _know._"

Goodman's brows quirked before he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I fail to see how that could make you nervous."

Booth sighed, and decided to cut to the chase. "Sir, are you planning on splitting Dr. Brennan and I up?"

"No."

Booth breathed a sigh of relief and finally allowed himself to relax against the chair. He turned grateful eyes toward his partner's boss. "Thank you."

"However... there are some things I would like to discuss with you, pertaining to this new situation you and Dr. Brennan have found yourselves in."

Booth furrowed his brow. "Okay..."

"Firstly: while I am not splitting the two of you up, I will be on the lookout for any possible complications arising from your romantic entanglement."

"I can assure you, sir, that Dr. Brennan and myself _have_ always and _will_ always conduct ourselves in a professional manner while on the job."

"Thank you, Agent Booth. That's what an administrator likes to hear."

Booth smiled at this.

"Secondly, though your romantic ties to each other should not complicate your cases, Dr. Brennan's pregnancy _will_."

"Yes sir, I know."

"Good. And I'm sure you know just how fragile and conditional a pregnancy can sometimes be."

Again, Booth nodded. "Yes."

"So Agent Booth, I am going to be straight with you." Dr. Goodman leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk blotter as he regarded Booth seriously. "Under no circumstances will you be taking Dr. Brennan out into the field with you once she reaches her third trimester. No matter how much she is bound to protest, I will not allow it. And there will be no room for argument, either. From you _or_ her."

Booth shook his head. "You won't hear any arguments from me, sir. I think that's a great idea." He tilted his head. "I can tell you that Bones is going to put up a hell of a fight, but I've got no problem with it."

Goodman nodded. "Yes. And, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, she needs to be careful while she's out in the field. Though she's passed the riskiest trimester, that doesn't mean she still can't lose the baby."

Booth swallowed hard at this, the mere thought of her losing the baby spearing his heart. "I know. I'm keeping an eye on her."

"Good."

A pause ensued in which Goodman and Booth nodded at each other, before Booth raised his eyebrows. "So, was that all?"

"Not quite, Agent Booth."

"Okay..."

Goodman paused to clear his throat and lean back in his chair. "I'm not quite sure how to broach this next subject, Agent Booth, so please forgive me. While we're on the subject of you and Dr. Brennan..."

"Yeah...?"

Goodman leaned forward again. "You should know that I often look at her as I would a daughter. I care for her, I admire her strength, I am awed by her intelligence, and I always want what is best for her. So I mean this in the most fatherly of ways when I ask you... what exactly are your intentions toward Temperance?"

Booth's eyebrows shot toward his hairline at the unexpected query. "Uhhh... I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Your intentions, Seeley."

"I, uh..." Booth continued to stutter, baffled by the line of questioning. "I intend to look out for her... to help her through her pregnancy as best I can, and to do everything in my power to always keep her and our child safe and healthy."

"Do you love her?"

Booth stared straight into Goodman's eyes, unblinking, as he nodded. "Yes. I do."

"Do you intend to marry her?"

Booth's brows scooted up another inch on his forehead. "I, uh... I guess I hadn't given that much thought. The pregnancy in itself has been taking up most of my thoughts, but..."

"Because I don't mean to preach to you, Seeley, but I am deacon at my church."

"No, I understand. I honestly hadn't given it thought until now, but... I think I would _like_ to marry her. I don't know that she'd allow it, though."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Because... she's Bones." He chuckled to himself. "I can practically hear what she would say now, about how I shouldn't feel obligated to marry her just because she's carrying my child... and that many people nowadays raise children out of wedlock."

"Yes, I see what you mean. But perhaps if you explained to her your desire to marry her _not_ just for the sake of your child..."

"She wouldn't buy that."

Goodman's eyebrows quirked upward, and a small smile twitched at the corners of his lips. "Well, I guess that would depend on how you choose to sell it to her."

Booth mirrored the slight smile. "Are you giving me advice on how to best propose? Because if you are, this conversation may just be getting a little too weird."

Goodman chuckled. "My point, Agent Booth, was merely to ask your intentions. I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable."

Booth shook his head. "You didn't. It's..." He grinned again. "Just a little odd." After a pause in which he sighed, he gave a facial shrug. "And I think I would like to ask her to marry me, but..." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I just... I don't think I'll be able to stand it if I get a proposal rejected for the second time in my life. Once hurt badly enough."

"I can imagine. But keep in mind that this is not just _any_ pregnant woman you're dealing with here, Agent Booth. Keep in mind that Temperance is not like the mother of your first child. You and she have a bond that goes beyond the sharing of a child. Truth be told, the two of you have a bond that many people envy."

"We do?"

"Mm-hmm. But I see where you're coming from about getting a proposal rejected." Goodman nodded slowly, then tilted his head. "So, if you were to ask my advice, I would tell you to at least test the waters before jumping in."

Booth nodded. "I understand." After another pause, he raised his eyebrows. "Was, uh... was that it now, sir?"

"Yes. And again, I apologize if at any time I made you uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable," Booth chuckled, "Just surprised."

Goodman chuckled. "I'll have to make a note of surprising you more often then, Agent Booth. I find it quite amusing."

Booth grinned.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**MORE Author's Notes: **I COMPLETELY forgot to mention in the last chapter that Hodgins' "way to go" line came from SleepDeprived07 -- that was her brain-child, so she deserves all the credit for that. _


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Space Cadet

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Space Cadet

* * *

"Booth..."

"Hmm."

Temperance smiled as his palm instinctively found her abdomen, and she covered his hand with hers, squeezing it slightly as she tried again. "Booth."

"What?"

She raised her eyebrows when she finally gained his attention. "Are you okay?"

He nodded automatically. "Sure, why?"

"You keep staring off into space for no reason."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice I was doing it."

He lied. He knew full well he was dazed, but he couldn't help it. His meeting with Goodman, though it had gone well, was sticking in his mind. Specifically, the portion about possibly proposing. Part of him was surprised he hadn't considered it right off the bat... and yet another part of him knew why he hadn't. He was right in assuming she wouldn't be keen on the idea of getting married purely because she was pregnant. She didn't handle relationships in a conventional way -- she often had accused him of being a stodgy traditionalist when it came to love and relationships.

But what Booth also knew was her unconventional ways stemmed from her unconventional upbringing. He knew, had her parents still been around, she would be more open to pursuing a more mundane relationship. She'd be more open to the possibility of--

"Booth!"

"What? Sorry."

"What is the matter with you?" She removed his hand from her slightly rounded abdomen and pushed off his couch, going into the kitchen and grabbing a bag of pretzels. She returned to the couch after ripping the bag open and stuffing her hand inside, digging around for the more salty pieces. "Why are you going all space-cadet all of a sudden?"

He raised his eyebrows at her terminology. "'Space cadet'?"

She tilted her head, a look of disappointment coloring her face. "Did I use it wrong? I've heard Angela use it, but--"

"No, you did fine. Just not used to hearing that come out of your mouth." He sighed. "And... I can't really explain why I'm going off into space so often."

"My amnio is in a week. Are you worried about that for some reason?"

He shook his head immediately. "No. I know everything's going to be fine with you, fine with the kid..." He nodded toward her choice snack. "Might wanna take it easy on the salty stuff, though."

She chucked a pretzel at him and admonished him for coddling. "I can't help it that my body wants salt, Booth. I'm just following my body's orders." She grabbed another one and began to nibble it, glancing sidelong at her partner in the process. "Is this about what Goodman said?"

"What? Goodman didn't say anything about anything, what are you talking about?" he blurted, eyes shifting.

Tempe widened her own. "I... meant about Parker. Because Booth, I don't have to spend time with him if you don't want me to. I already told you, I in no way want to infringe on your time with him. I--"

He stopped her words with a kiss. "No. It's not about that. I stand by my belief that Parker would adore you. And I think you _should_ meet him. After all..." He trailed off and stared at the coffee table again.

Tempe ducked her head slightly to regain his attention. "After all, what?"

Booth took a moment to choose his words carefully. "After all, you're going to be the mother of Parker's little brother or little sister, and... I want him to get to know you. I think it's important you guys spend time together."

Tempe smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Booth, it's not like you and I are getting married or anything."

He feigned a chuckle, that came out somewhat nervous. "Right, yeah." He paused, tilting his head slightly, brows knitting together as he questioned, "Would that be so awful?"

"What?" She started eating just the salt off another pretzel.

"Us. Married. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world... would it?"

She made a face. "Of course not. I'm just saying that you and I aren't intending to get married, so there's no need to force Parker to interact with me if he doesn't want to."

"Parker's met you once, Bones. I don't think he'd be oppposed to seeing you again. In fact, he kinda liked ya when he met you."

Booth cherished the soft look that came over her features in that instant. "He did?"

"Yeah. He keeps referring to you as the 'pretty lady from the restaurant.' He's been asking to meet you again, but I've kept telling him you were too busy."

"Well, I'd like to see him again. He seemed like a nice little boy, Booth."

He smiled. "Then, I'll set something up."

"Good."

The pair settled back on the couch again, Booth watching Tempe while she nibbled the salt off yet another pretzel, discarding the remains on a nearby napkin when he was finished. He chuckled at the sight. "Bones..."

"What?" She turned to look at him after plucking another pretzel out of the bag. Realization came over her features then. "Oh, I'm sorry." She reached for the now-plain pretzel she'd set on her napkin and held it out to Booth.

He waved it away and wrinkled his nose slightly. "I'm good, thanks."

"Alright." She settled back with her pretzels once more. After a moment of silence in which she picked the salt off two additional pretzels, she sighed. "I'm getting thirsty."

Booth had to laugh at this. "Well no wonder! You're consuming all the salt in the D.C. area."

She rolled her eyes as he rose to fetch her a bottle of water. "You're over-exaggerating, Booth."

"You're right," he chuckled, "I am. But it's just so damn funny."

Tempe turned over her shoulder slightly and smiled her gratitude when she was given her bottle of water, before she turned serious again and posed her question. "So you're never going to tell me what's wrong with you?"

"In general, or just today?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Today, Booth. Delving into what else is wrong with you would take far too long."

A smile flicked across his face and was gone. "Gee thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome. Now tell me what's going on. It's nothing to do with my amnio, or with Parker. So what is it?"

He shook his head and leaned in for a kiss. "Nothing for you to worry about, trust me." As he kissed her, he slid his hand into the open pretzel bag...

"Ow!"

...And promptly got his hand slapped for doing so.

"Geez..." He pulled back waved his hand in quick succession, trying to shake away the pain. "Note to self: pregnant chicks get territorial over their food."

Tempe smirked halfway at him and stuffed another pretzel into her mouth. Booth just chuckled and shook his head in response, reaching for the television remote. He flicked through the channels on autopilot, staring through the selections rather than at them, once again thinking about what he didn't want to think about.

"Booth, stop it."

"What?" He turned to look at her.

She snatched the remote from his hands. "You're going too fast. I'm getting dizzy."

Booth watched her as she slowed the channel surfing. "So..." he began, then immediately trailed off.

She glimpsed at him in her peripheral vision. "Yeah?"

"Marrying me wouldn't be all that awful?"

"No, Booth, it wouldn't. But I would hope that you wouldn't ask me to marry you just because I'm pregnant. People shouldn't feel obligated to commit to each other for the sake of a child. It creates a potentially detrimental developmental environment for the child in question, and causes the parents to eventually resent one another."

Booth nodded. "I whole-heartedly agree to that, Bones. I thank God everyday that Rebecca never accepted my proposal, because there's no telling how much more we would hate each other right now. And I wouldn't want to know what that would've done to Parker." He cleared his throat. "People should marry each other because they love one another, and because they want to be together for the rest of their lives, child or no child. They should get married because they're meant for each other in every possible way, despite the fact that they know too well how to push each other's buttons and annoy the hell outa each other."

The pretzels were forgotten, set aside as Tempe laid a hand over her abdomen and shifted her position on the couch, angling her body toward her partner. "What are you saying, Booth?"

He took a breath, let it out, then took another. He finally let it out. "I'm saying I want to marry you, Temperance." He held her gaze as he shook his head slowly, gaze intense. "And it has nothing to do with the pregnancy -- that's not why I'm asking. I'm asking because I'm in love with you. I want to marry you, call you my wife. I want to build a family with you and grow old with you." He allowed a slight smile to break forth, then. "Whaddya say?"

Tempe could do nothing but blink in response, her jaw slack.

* * *

TBC 


	19. Chapter Eighteen: The Giddy Schoolgirl

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Giddy Schoolgirl

* * *

Temperance jumped as her best friend slapped a very thick issue of Vogue magazine down on her desk, eyes ablaze. "What the HELL do you mean, 'you just left'!"

She shrugged, her hands up in the air as an exaggeration to the shrug. "What was I supposed to do?"

Angela's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Ummmm, say YES?" She huffed, then shook her head in disbelief. "My God. Y'know, it's a good thing you're pregnant, Brenn, because otherwise? I'd drop-kick your clueless ass into next week."

Tempe tilted her head. "Time is a universal invariant, Angela. What you just described is impossible."

Angela raised her eyebrows pointedly, "Oh, I'd make it possible, honey. Trust me." She shook her head again. "I seriously cannot believe this." After folding her arms tightly across her chest, she stalked over to her friend's couch and plopped down heavily, ignoring the look she got when she couch knocked back a little. "You have one of the hottest guys in the world sitting in front of you, telling you that he's in love with you and he wants to spend his life with you... and you just walk out?"

Tempe sighed. "Okay, so I panicked."

"Yeah, big time! I mean, why didn't you say anything? Say something like, 'Booth, I need to think about it,' or 'I need a little time' or SOMETHING, Sweetie! Why on Earth did you just walk out without saying anything?"

She shrugged. "I kinda couldn't. I was speechless. I mean, we agreed to take baby steps during this whole thing or at least _try_ to, and then out of the blue he decides he wants to marry me! I don't know, it just... threw me off."

"Threw you off in a good way?"

"I don't know."

"Who threw you off what?" Hodgins appeared in the doorway then, holding a cardboard drink holder with two to-go Starbucks cups. He grinned at Tempe. "Booth shouldn't be throwing you off anything. No sexual rough-housing while pregnant." He handed her a cup, then sauntered over to Angela wearing another of his devilish grins. "You, on the other hand..." He extended a second cup to Angela with a wink. "Anytime you want to be thrown off something, just call me, baby. I'm your man."

Angela rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smirk. "In your dreams."

"Yeah, I know." He glanced between the two women. "So what were you talking about? Female stuff?"

Tempe shook her head and took the lid off her cup, blowing on the translucent brown liquid before taking a sip. "It's nothing, Hodgins. And what is this, exactly?"

"Chai Tea. Isn't it good?"

"Why didn't you bring me coffee?" she demanded, blue eyes sparkling with a hint of ire.

Hodgins just shrugged. "Booth threatened me with bodily harm if I continued pumping you full of caffeine every morning."

Angela turned over her shoulder, toward Hodgins who was seated on the arm of the couch directly at her side. She met his eyes. "Booth proposed to Brennan lastnight."

Hodgins promptly spit out the sip of coffee he'd just taken from Angela's cup. "What!"

Tempe shrugged. "Why is everybody making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because it's a marriage proposal, Sweetie! It's not like you get those every day!"

Hodgins shook his head. "No. No, a marriage proposal is huge. How can you _not_ make a big deal out of this? What did you say?"

Angela grinned up at her companion. "One mention of a marriage proposal and you turn into a giddy schoolgirl."

He narrowed his sharp blue eyes at her. "Quit picturing me in the uniform."

Tempe rolled her eyes at their antics. "You two should really conduct these mid-morning flirting sessions in one of your own offices."

Hodgins ignored the comment, though he tossed a surreptitious glance at Angela before looking back up at Tempe. "So what did you say to Booth?"

Angela smacked his leg. "Get this. She walked out."

Another sip of coffee was nearly expirated all over the office. Hodgins sputtered a laugh and looked to Tempe. "You what? You didn't say anything? Just mutely got up, went to the door, and left?"

"What was I supposed to do?"

He shrugged one shoulder, feigning ignorance. "Oh, nothing. I kinda figured an answer follows a proposal, but... I could be wrong."

"Sweetie, have you talked to Booth at all today?"

She shook her head. "He normally calls as soon as he gets in to the Hoover, but I haven't heard from him."

Hodgins chuffed. "He's probably licking his wounds." He glanced between the two women as they gave furrowed-brow expressions, then he added, "So to speak."

A vertical crease indented the space between Tempe's eyebrows as she asked, almost mournfully, "What am I going to do?"

"For now, Sweetie? You're going to relax. Though you may have screwed up big-time..." She studiously ignored the glare sent her way for that remark. "You aren't going to let it effect your work. Goodman wouldn't like that, I'm sure."

She nodded. "You're right."

"And Hodgins and I will go talk to Booth."

Hodgins raised his eyebrows. "Why do I have to go?"

Angela glared. "You can't do it out of the goodness of the heart that's buried _somewhere_ in that general vicinity?" She made a vague gestured toward his chest.

He huffed indignantly. "Fine. But you're buying me lunch."

"Fine."

Tempe watched as her friends started for the door, side-by-side.

"And dinner," Hodgins added.

Angela laughed. "You wish!"

"And after dinner? Breakfast."

Just before they rounded the corner, she heard Angela sigh. "Dearest Hodgins, your ego knows no bounds."

"Yeah, but that's why you love me, right Ange? Huh?"

"Shut up."

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Apologies to all for not being able to get this up over Easter weekend. RL totally wrecks fic-time, as usual. But, hopefully this chapter will placate you. And apologies, again, for not being able to respond to a lot of reviews. Just know that I still appreciate every single one, and you all continually inspire me to keep going with all my fics! Much love to each and every one of you reviewers!_


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Carefully Orchestrated

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 19: Carefully Orchestrated

* * *

"Bones, will you marry me? No, _Temperance_, will you marry me? Marry me, Temperance. Bones, you should marry me. Be my wife, Bones. Temperance, will you be my wife? Hey, Bones--"

"Is it okay to come in? Or did you two want to be alone?"

Seeley Booth's head snapped upward to meet twin amused smirks -- one from Angela, and one from Hodgins, who were both standing in his doorway. He sighed and shook his head. "What are you doing here?" He nodded toward Hodgins, eyeing him warily. "And shouldn't he be wearing a leash?"

While Hodgins rolled his eyes, Angela smiled. "He's fine. I told him if he's a good boy, he'll get a treat later."

Hodgins' eyes widened at this. "No you didn't! But hell yes I'd like a treat. What did you have in mind?"

Now it was Booth's turn to roll his eyes. "You couldn't have finished the mid-morning flirting session before you got here?"

Angela ignored the comment, used to the insinuation, and stepped into Booth's office without invitation. Hodgins followed, and they took a seat in the chairs opposite Booth's desk.

He sighed, feigning graciousness; his tone was ripe with sarcasm. "Oh please sit down, stay awhile."

"Look, Booth." Angela leaned forward in her chair, bracing her elbows on her thighs. "We heard about what happened lastnight."

"Great, so it's already being broadcast around squint headquarters, huh?"

Hodgins shook his head. "Angela and I are the only ones that know."

"Yeah," Angela jumped in, "And we're the only ones that _have_ to know. You're going to propose to her again."

Booth raised his eyebrows. "Just how often do you think I like to be rejected?"

Angela sighed. "She wasn't rejecting you, Booth! She was shocked, confused, I mean... what brought this on?"

"Goodman."

Hodgins sputtered a laugh. "Goodman _made_ you propose to Brennan? Geez." He looked to Angela with a grin. "Guy really _is_ old-fashioned."

Angela rolled her eyes. "What did Goodman say to you, Booth?"

"Just some stuff that made me think. He didn't force me into anything, believe me. This is actually something that's been at the back of my mind for awhile, but I just... didn't outwardly consider it until he brought it up."

Hodgins furrowed his brow and looked to his dark-haired companion. "Were those words English? I didn't understand any of them."

Angela rolled her eyes once more and sighed. "Jack, go get me a cup of water from the water cooler."

He chuffed. "What am I, your lap dog?"

She raised her eyebrows at him pointedly, her tone toeing the line between flirtatious and seductive. "You want a treat later, or not?"

Hodgins widened his eyes and was out the door and down the hall in seconds. Angela grinned at the expected response and turned back to Booth. "Don't mind him."

Booth shook his head. "Never do." He locked eyes with the pretty artist. "Did Brennan send you to talk to me?"

"No. She's still just as frazzled and confused as she probably was when you last saw her. I decided to come and see how you were doing."

"And Hodgins?"

She shrugged. "Didn't have anything better to do."

"Yeah that, and you've got him wrapped around your little finger."

She smirked. "Let's not get into that now. I'm here to talk to you about Brennan."

Booth sighed and rose to his feet, beginning to pace around the office while tossing and catching his keys repeatedly. "I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do. I tried to put it in a way that would let her know I wasn't doing it just because of the pregnancy, but--"

"And there's no telling whether or not she understood that. All I know from speaking to her is, you threw her off in a major way." Angela stood as well, her neck starting to hurt from watching the handsome fed pace back and forth. "Hopefully a good way, but definitely a major way. She's going through a lot right now, and you know that. You can't just bombard her with a proposal and expect a rational response. Not Brennan, of all people. You have to propose to her in the same way you got her to fall in love with you."

"Yeah," Booth chuckled, rubbing his chin absently. "I, uh... still don't know how I managed that, to tell you the truth."

"I do." Angela grinned.

"You do?"

She nodded slowly. "Mm-hmm."

"Alright, here's your water," Hodgins broke in, rushing back into the office with a Dixie-cup of water. It sloshed up around the sides, and some splashed onto the floor as he ran with it.

Angela made a face and carefully, almost warily, took it from him. "What the hell took you so long? Was there a line?"

"Uh, no." He looked to Booth. "Dude, I don't know how you get anything done around here."

Booth raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I think I was just propositioned by the entire secretarial pool. Are they _all_ Playboy centerfolds? Or is that just on this floor?"

Angela sighed and turned her back on Hodgins, resuming her conversation with Booth. "As I was saying..."

"Yeah. How exactly did I get Brennan to fall in love with me?"

She grinned. "You snuck up on her with it."

Hodgins blew a puff of air through his pursed lips, skepticism voiced. "How do you know that?"

"Believe me boys, I watched the progression, slow as it was." She focused her gaze on Booth. "It was quiet, cautious, and very carefully orchestrated. Just like your proposal has to be."

"Wait a minute, I didn't carefully orchestrate anything as far as Brennan and I go."

"Figure of speech."

"So what are you suggesting?" Hodgins asked, leaning forward and sneaking a sip out of Angela's cup; he gave a devilish grin in response to her look. "Are you thinking of a surprise party type of proposal?"

"No. The surprise element will be there though, trust me."

Booth, brows quirked with interest, leaned conspiratorially toward Angela. "Lay it on me."

Hodgins grinned gleefully just at seeing the look on Angela's face. "This is gonna be so good."

She nodded to both men, her eyes twinkling. "I promise you, Brennan won't know what hit her."

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Sorry that took so long, guys! I've got several fandoms to cater to right now, so updates will be slow. Hopefully the new Bones this week will add some more inspiration, though ;)_


	21. Chapter Twenty: Preparations

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 20: Preparations

* * *

"Remind me why we're doing this?"

"As a favor to Booth," Angela responded, carefully taking the tray of paint from Hodgins' arms and carrying it toward the wall.

"You're the one that's enthralled with Booth, not me," he griped.

She smirked, and jerked her chin toward the item in the corner of the room. "Just start setting up the crib. I'll finish painting."

"Yeah, okay, because I've set up so many cribs before."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll come and help you in a few minutes, this wall just needs a top-coat."

Silence fell over the pair as they set about completing their respective tasks, their eyes flitting to each other every so often. "So..." Hodgins began after several minutes had passed. "Do you think this'll work?"

Angela chuckled slightly, moving the roller expertly along the wall. "If it doesn't, I'll drag Brennan to the altar myself. She can't run from this forever."

"Why do you think she runs?" Hodgins frowned down at a small metallic piece he held in his hand, cross-checking it with the set-up diagram he was given.

"Because of her past... because of what happened to her parents. Lots of reasons factor in, I'm sure. But probably the main reason is, she's never been in this situation and it kind of scares her."

"You mean pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes again. "I mean in love. She's never been in love."

"Oh." Hodgins turned and allowed his eyes to flick over the brunette's form briefly before he asked, "Have you?"

She raised her eyebrows and glanced away from her paint job. "Have I ever been in love?" When he nodded, she gave it some thought. "Well... I think, a couple times I _thought_ that I was. I've been in like. And I've been in lust."

"Never in love."

Angela made a slightly negative noise as she shook her head, and Hodgins mirrored this move.

"Yeah, me neither."

She grinned and resumed her painting, dipping the roller into the paint tray before returning it to the wall. "You strike me as someone who wouldn't believe in love."

"Well, I think it can be overrated..." His eyes flicked over her again and softened. "Most of the time."

"And the rest of the time?"

Hodgins watched her glide the roller up and down the wall, taking in the way her sable curls cascaded across her shoulder as she turned this way and that. "The rest of the time, it's not so bad."

* * *

"Bones..."

"Booth." Surprise laced her tone as she looked up from her computer monitor. "What are you doing here?"

He raised his eyebrows and continued to linger in the doorway. "Why do you sound so surprised to see me?"

"I just figured you... might be upset still. I figured you wouldn't want to see me."

He exhaled a chuckle and stepped into her office. "You figured, or you hoped, Bones?"

"Figured."

"Ah. Well, surprise. I still want to see you." He took the liberty of perching on her desk, ignoring the look she gave him for sitting on one of her files. He clasped his hands in his lap and smiled at her. "You may have turned down my proposal, but it'll take a hell of a lot more than that to get rid of me."

She sighed. "Booth, I wasn't trying to get rid of you and you know that."

"Well, good. So then you'll come to dinner with me tonight."

"Dinner?"

Booth flicked his brows upward. "Yeah, dinner. It generally follows lunch."

"I know what dinner is, Booth..."

"So you'll be having it tonight? With me?"

She met her partner's eyes and saw the plea glimmering in them. She was helpless to refuse. "Okay."

He grinned. "Great." He turned to head out the door then and called over his shoulder, "I'll pick ya up around five."

* * *

"For crying out loud, Angela, are we done yet?"

Angela grinned and put the finishing touches on the wall she was painting. "Y'know, it's fitting you're helping me set up for the arrival of a baby..."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

She chuckled. "Because you're acting like a baby, Jack."

"Wow, that was a good one. You should consider a career as a stand-up comic."

She rolled her eyes and moved one step higher on the ladder she was currently balanced on. "If you're gonna get snarky with me, you could always wait out in the living room. Watch TV or something."

"What's the use? I'll bet Booth doesn't even get the Playboy channel."

"You're probably right about that. Here..." She held out the can of pastel yellow paint. "Take this, I'm getting down."

Hodgins took the paint can from her hands and turned around to set it on the dropcloth she'd laid down. When he spun back to face his dark-haired companion, it was to see her teetering precariously on the fifth step of the ladder. Without thinking, he reached his arms out, catching her and stumbling with her before they both fell to the floor.

Hodgins cried out in pain when the back of his head hit the hardwood floor, and he squinted his eyes shut. Upon hearing Angela's groan of pain, he opened one eye and assessed the look on her face. "You okay?"

Angela nodded and pressed her hands into the floor, lifting her torso off him though the rest of their bodies remained in contact. "I think so. What about you?"

"Well, my spine has definitely felt better, but..." His slow-spreading grin turned to a leer. "I finally got you on top of me."

Angela rolled her eyes and pushed herself off him, helping him up. "Come on, we gotta clean up as fast as we can and then leave. This paint has to have time to dry before Booth comes home."

"Did I ruin the moment?" Hodgins asked suddenly.

Angela chuckled. "There was no moment, Hodgins. Trust me."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure we had a moment."

"And if you keep this up, we'll have another one outside: with me, backing over you five or six times with the car."

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her and grinned. "You really frighten me, and I like that."

Angela cracked a grin at the look on his face, then rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed his arm. "Come on. Help me clean up, and I'll see about frightening you again."

* * *

TBC 


	22. Chapter Twenty One: A Forever Way

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 21: A Forever Way  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I think this is the longest chapter of this story to date. Soooo... enjoy it!

* * *

"Thank you for dinner, Booth," Tempe commented, her hand unconsciously on her abdomen as she settled against the passenger seat of Booth's SUV.

Booth smiled over at her as he started the car. "You are very welcome, Bones. Thank you for coming out with me."

"You're welcome. I'm just... y'know, glad we could get past the whole proposal... thing."

"Oh." He nodded emphatically. "Yeah, me too. Me too." He cleared his throat and trained his eyes on the road, knowing that if he looked at her, he'd give everything away. "I think it's best we just pick up where we left off, I-I mean not _right_ where we left off, but y'know... back up a little, and go from there."

"You seem a little out of it, Booth. Are you alright?" She furrowed her brows as she studied her partner.

"Yeah. Definitely. Why?"

Her eyebrows flicked upward briefly. "Because you're driving on the curb."

The tires squealed and Booth reached out to cover Tempe's abdomen protectively as he veered back onto the road. He glimpsed quick at her as he muttered an embarrassed, "Sorry."

"Are you sure you're alright, Booth?"

He plastered on a smile for her. "Just fine, Bones. Sit back and enjoy the ride."

She sighed. "Just as long as you stay on the road."

* * *

"Why did Booth text you?"

Angela slipped Booth's hide-a-key back into its designated spot after she and Hodgins had slipped inside the front door. She then shut the door behind them and shoved Hodgins further inside. "He just wanted me to make sure everything was all set, before they got back here from dinner. If I'd known you were going to ask so many questions, I would've just left you chained to your desk, like usual."

"Which reminds me... do you own a pair of handcuffs, perchance? And if so, would you like to put them to good use?"

She rolled her eyes as Hodgins followed her down the hall. "Only if, by that, you mean me cuffing you to the back bumper of the car."

"You really have a thing with wanting to injure me with the car today. What gives?"

She sighed, "Something about you just brings out the violent side of me, dearest Hodgins."

"Wow. That's... weird. Kinda hot, but weird."

Angela rolled her eyes once more and clicked on the light in the room they'd recently painted. The giant fans that had been drying the paint were no longer anywhere to be found, and all the newspaper and blue painting tape had been cleaned up. "I'd say everything looks good. We should probably--" Her ears perked a little at the sound she heard coming from the hallway; when she realized what it was, her eyes widened, and she grabbed Hodgins by the collar of his shirt. "Shit!"

"What? What?" He asked frantically, stumbling over his own feet awkwardly as she dragged him toward the closet.

She pulled on the white-washed folding door until one side of the closet was opened. She then tugged Hodgins inside with her and shut the door, hissing, "It's Booth and Bren! They're back!"

"So?"

Angela shoved her companion; he was ever the oblivious male. Her voice remained barely audible. "So, the whole idea with this whole thing was to remain covert! Brennan can't know that we're here and that we helped with this!"

"Oh," Hodgins whispered back slowly, as if realization had just hit -- in the dark, he didn't see Angela rolling her eyes. "Because this is supposed to be Booth's surprise proposal?"

"Yeah," she hissed, "Thanks for catching up."

* * *

"You want me to put your leftover lobster in the fridge, Bones, or you wanna nibble on it now?"

"Fridge is fine," Tempe responded, rubbing slow circles into her abdomen while she wandered Booth's livingroom, visually browsing his possessions as if she'd never been there before.

"Here."

She turned at the sound of his voice and saw him extending a bottle of water to her while holding another, probably for himself, in his other hand. She twitched a smile. "Thanks."

A brief moment of awkward silence passed between the partners for the first time in what felt like a long time. Finally, Booth sighed. "So..."

Tempe's eyebrows flicked upward. "So...?"

"Uh, when's your amnio?"

"A few days," Tempe responded, her eyes bouncing back and forth between pictures of Parker on his bookshelf. "Are you coming with?"

He nodded. "If you'll have me."

At this comment, she turned away from the pictures and met his eyes, her brow furrowing in contemplation. "Are you sure you're alright, Booth? You seem... nervous or something."

* * *

"Do you hear where they are?"

Hodgins turned toward the source of his companion's whisper... though she wasn't difficult to locate being just inches away from him. "No, my sonar's on the fritz," he quipped softly. "What am I, a bat?"

"Shut up. Y'know, if you hadn't taken so damn long at the lab, we wouldn't even be in this predicament right now," Angela hissed. "But of course you had to finish your bug race with Zack--"

"Hey, at least we went to 'sudden death' for the sake of saving time," he hissed back. "Even though Half-Nelson could've easily won the tournament."

Angela huffed, then almost startled at how quickly her breath bounced off Hodgins' lips and went back to her own. She felt a slight tickle on her leg and gasped, jumping closer to Hodgins. "What was that?"

His hands found her hips instinctively, steadying her while he tried to keep his own balance in the dark. "What was what?"

"I felt something on my leg. I think it might've been a spider. Will you kill it?"

Hodgins paused a moment. "Yeah, okay, sure. Just let me get my night-vision working," he snarked. "Angela, it's pitch-black in here. How'm I supposed to find a spider?"

"Do you even know how insufferable you are sometimes, Jack? What is it with you today?"

"You just bring out that side of me, toots."

Angela huffed frustratedly again.

* * *

"Can I show you around, Bones?"

Tempe arched an eyebrow. "I've been here before, Booth."

"I know, but... I don't think you've ever gotten a full formal tour before, have you?"

"No."

Booth raised his eyebrows and gave her his 'charm' smile, extending his arm to her. "Then let's go."

Warily, she looped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her around. He placed his hand over hers that was on his arm and squeezed it, leaning toward her ear. "Bones, I know you don't want to talk about what happened the other night..."

She closed her eyes. "Booth..."

"No no, just let me say this. I know you ran out because you were thrown-off and unsure, and... probably a million different things all at once. I mean hell, I pretty much sprung that whole thing on you."

"I won't argue with you there." She smiled ruefully.

Booth grinned. "You not arguing with me? That'd be a first."

She rolled her eyes.

"But seriously, Bones. Temperance. I know that I sprung that on you and I apologize." He held her gaze. "But I won't apologize for asking."

"Booth..."

"And I know I never received an actual answer from you, so before you tell me 'no,' will you just go on this tour with me? Will you allow me to show you all these aspects of my life, and of _our life_ as I see it occurring, before you give me an answer?" His eyes pleaded with her.

Tempe searched his eyes briefly before she slowly nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." He led her first into the kitchen. "This, as you know, is my kitchen. You've obviously been here before, and you have a kitchen of your own, so you know its basic features. What I can tell you is different about _this_ kitchen, Bones, is that I will be in it, cooking for you and our kids as often as I can." He nodded just beyond the kitchen. "There's my dining room table, which can easily fit more than just you and me. There's room there for Parker and for a high-chair as well. And the paint is stain-resistant too, so when I try to feed the baby actual food for the first time and it spits it back at me, it'll wipe off the wall easily."

Tempe had to chuckle at the image of Booth splattered with strained peas. "Okay..."

He led her into the living room. "This is my living room. You may remember it as where you consumed all the pretzels in the tri-state area." He grinned when she rolled her eyes. "You're obviously familiar with the functions of a couch, and I can assure you that I will let you hog a good portion of that couch. That and, once you learn how to use it, I'll even let you hold the remote for the TV."

"Okay..." she chuckled again.

Booth pointed to the bookcases along the far wall. "As you can see, there's plenty of room in my bookshelves for your anthropology texts and medical journals and all of that other... stuff... that you read and I know nothing about. There's also ample room on these other shelves for your creepy little bone souvenirs."

At that crack, her jaw dropped indignantly, and she planted her fists on her hips. "They are not creepy! And they're not 'bone souvenirs' -- they're things I've collected from all the digs I've been on."

Booth nodded, his voice deadpan. "So... bone souvenirs."

She smacked him in the arm, and he feigned a wince.

"Alright, alright. They're not 'bone souvenirs.' Whatever they are, you can put them on the shelves." He then led his pregnant partner down the hallway, stopping at the first door on the left and flicking on the light inside the room. "I don't think you've seen this one before."

Tempe peered inside and saw a bedroom strewn with toys -- plastic dinosaurs, stuffed animals, army figurines -- and a twin bed standing directly in the middle. The walls were a deep blue with space-themed decals covering a good portion of the walls. Even without Booth's explanation, she knew what this room was for.

"This is Parker's room when he comes to stay with me. He normally keeps it a little more tidy than what you see now. But he is a great little boy. And he'd love you, Bones, he really would. Don't doubt for a minute that he wouldn't worship the ground you walk on. He'd take after me, in that respect." He turned to smile at her and found her eyes cemented to him, half-contemplating him and half soaking up what he was saying.

* * *

"I think they're getting closer," Angela whispered. She turned in the dark to face Hodgins and drew in her breath when the tip of her nose bumped his. She hadn't realized they'd gotten that close.

But Hodgins didn't move. Neither did his hands, still on her hips. He must have realized the closeness at the same time too, for his whisper came out just a tad tremulous. "Y-yeah."

They found each other's eyes in the darkness, and a silent battle ensued...

* * *

"Here's the bathroom," Booth flicked on another light and allowed his companion to take a look around. "I normally keep it pretty clean, but I would be amenable to letting your girly stuff mess it up a little bit."

Tempe raised her brows at him. "You think my 'girl stuff' is going to mess up your festidious bachelor bathroom? Like I'll leave pink razors and flowery-scented candles all over the place?"

"I'm just saying you can do whatever you want to my bathroom, Bones, and I won't care because I'll be so damn happy that you're living here with me." After a pause in which his partner stared at him, Booth cleared his throat and gestured to the next room. "And then in here... is the bedroom."

They stepped inside together and Booth gestured Tempe to sit down, which she did slowly, watching him as he walked around the rather large room. "This, obviously, is where we will sleep and conduct our, um..." A silly grin came to his face. "Recreational activities."

Tempe rolled her eyes. "Pig."

"Prude," he shot back good-naturedly, and continued. "You're obviously familiar with the sheets."

"And you're obviously okay with being frequently banned to the couch," she countered.

His brows flicked upward in acknowledgement. "Point taken." He made his way toward the closet and opened the doors, making a sweeping gesture toward the inside. "The closet. Where you can take up at least half, if not more, of it with all your clothes and shoes and stuff, and," he shook his head, "I won't even complain that I have no closet space, Bones."

"Okay," she chuckled.

"I do have a TV in here, but I won't turn it on at night if you don't want me to. Sometimes though, I like listening to mindless stuff as I fall asleep, like Letterman or Leno."

Tempe shook her head, her trademark, "I don't know what that means," rolling off her tongue.

Booth grinned. "I know you don't, Bones."

* * *

Hodgins was finally the first one to take a step back, tearing his eyes from Angela's in the dark and shuffling his feet. "Where the hell are they?" he whispered. "I have to pee."

He practically felt his companion rolling her eyes as she replied, "Way to the kill the mood, Hodgins."

His brows raised at this. "There was a mood? Were we having a moment?"

"Just forget it."

Hodgins was about to comment, but her hand against his lips, quieting him, surprised him enough to shut him up. "What?" he mumbled against her fingers.

"Sshh! I think they're coming."

* * *

"There's one more room I want to show you, Bones, before you give me an answer. Okay?"

Tempe nodded once. "Alright."

"But first, you have to close your eyes."

She balked at this. "What? Why?"

Booth templed his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Just... trust me, okay? Close your eyes."

Tempe complied and shut her eyes, instinctively reaching for her partner. She smiled when Booth grasped her hand and began to lead her forward. She heard him turn the knob and push open the final door, and felt herself being led inside. Once inside, she smelled the distinctive scent of a newly-painted room. "Booth?"

She heard the smile in his voice as he told her, "Open your eyes."

She did, and promptly widened them as she let out a barely-audible gasp. The entire room was painted a pastel yellow, with white shag rugs covering the hardwood floor in some spots. All the furniture, none of which she could recognize, was white-washed, and she turned her widened eyes to her partner for an explanation. "Booth?"

"This room, Bones, I've turned into our baby's room."

"Our baby," she repeated absently, still looking around the room in slight awe.

"Yeah. Look," he made his way to one of the white-washed pieces of furniture. "This is a crib, where the baby will sleep. And I'll buy baby monitors; we'll keep one in our room so we can hear when he or she cries." He moved to the next piece of furniture, also white-washed. "This is a changing table, where you and I will trade off changing the baby's diapers."

Tempe smiled, noting the joy in Booth's eyes as he described everything to her. She normally wasn't one to melt at any sentimental overtures, so she chose to blame the fluctuating hormones. Booth's efforts to build a future for them left her eyes moist.

"This is a glider, Bones," Booth explained, effectively gaining her attention once more. "It's kinda like a rocking chair, but with a smoother motion. We can rock the baby to sleep here, or feed him or her, or -- when it gets older -- we'll read stories here." He moved toward what looked like a white-washed hope chest against the far wall. "This, I thought we could use as a toy box or something. The dresser's right here..." He touched a taller, white-washed bureau on his way toward the closet.

* * *

"Oh shit," Hodgins whispered, and his hand unconsciously settled on the small of Angela's back.

She stepped closer to him. "Just don't move," she whispered back.

* * *

Booth grasped the handles on the bi-folding closet, its white-washed doors resembling oversized shutters. "And here's--" When the doors opened and Booth's eyes settled on its occupants, his expression slipped to a frown. "Hodgins and Angela."

Angela waved sheepishly while Hodgins lamely replied to an amused-looking Tempe, "We come with the room."

Tempe chuckled. "What are you guys doing here?"

Hodgins eyed the annoyed look on Booth's face. "We're... definitely wishing we could teleport back to the lab right about now."

Angela smiled. "Sorry. We're just leaving."

Booth shook his head. "You guys might as well stay to hear what she says. You'll waste less time gossipping in the morning, that way."

"Sweet!" Hodgins declared, and was promptly slugged in the shoulder by Angela.

She then tugged on his arm. "We'll just wait out in the hall, okay? Give you guys a little privacy."

When they were gone, Booth turned back to his companion and, upon noting her arched eyebrow, he explained, "Alright, so I needed a little help getting everything ready."

Tempe smiled and shook her head just slightly, dismissing both the explanation and the situation. "Doesn't matter," she assured him. "Help or no help, Booth, this is an amazing gesture."

He took her hand. "It's not just a gesture, Bones. Consider it an expression of my deepest wishes." Conviction colored his tone as he held her eyes, emphasizing each word slowly. "I want you to live here. With me. I want to be your husband. I want you to be my wife, and the mother of my children." He looked around the room briefly. "I want us to build a life here."

Tempe smiled when he met her eyes again.

"This pregnancy thing, Bones, as scary as it is, happened for a reason. And whether you believe in God or Fate or whatever, this happened for a reason -- because we're supposed to be together. And not just in a work partner way, Bones. In a forever way."

She blinked away the moisture that she could no longer attribute to hormones. "Booth..."

He dropped to one knee, still grasping her hand, and her stomach cartwheeled. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and, to her surprise, he pulled out a diamond-and-platinum engagement ring. She stared at this scene as if it were the most fascinating thing she'd ever witnessed, and maybe it was. Here was her partner, the man that infuriated her like no other, extending a ring to her while silently asking her to spend her life with him.

"Temperance... will you marry me?"

And then it was instinct. The rational, reserved part of her was shoved aside as she nodded emphatically and replied a steady, "Yes."

The force of what she'd said hit them both at the same time, and while Tempe let out a deep exhalation, Booth sighed in relief and emitted a face-splitting grin, slipping the ring onto her finger effortlessly.

She barely had time to look at the ring then, as her partner and now-future-husband stood up once again and swooped in for a breath-stealing kiss. In the back of her mind, Tempe registered the excited shriek of her best friend and heard both her and Hodgins bursting through the door, but she ignored it all as she continued to kiss Booth.

It wasn't until Hodgins' childish exclamation of, "Ewww!" that they broke apart to accept words of congratulations from their friends.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**MORE Author's Notes:** Yes, this chapter had a high sap-factor. I'm a sucker for romance, though, and I know that 99.9 percentof you are, too. :D_


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Excuses to Run

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 22: Excuses to Run  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Since you guys are by far the most wonderful bunch of readers and reviewers I've ever had the pleasure to write for, I'm giving you another chapter. The mass amounts of reviews for my updates have been very inspiring, sweet, humorous, and many other adjectives that I can't think of right now. This chapter definitely won't be as long as the last one -- this gets back to the normal chapter size, I believe, and is sort of a filler and a set-up for things to come. Enjoy :D

* * *

"Goin' to the chapel and we're... gonna get ma-a-arried. Goin' to the chapel and we're--"

"Ange."

Angela halted her singing and turned expectant eyes to her best friend, who tilted her head and glared death.

"It's been a week. And, this may be the hormones talking, but if you don't stop singing that song, I'll kill you and hide your body."

Angela giggled. "Point taken, Sweetie. The song stops. What would you like me to sing now? Maybe a little 'I'm Gettin' Married in the Mornin'?" She grinned cheekily. "Or a few bars of 'Wedding Bell Blues'?"

Tempe closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her temples. "Maybe a measure or two of 'Get Out of My Office'."

Angela grinned and made her way over to her friend, rubbing her back. "Easy, Bren. I'm just teasing you. I have literally been walking on air since you said 'yes' to Booth." She frowned briefly, eyeing the stress hugging her friend's features. "Y'know, since... you're obviously not very elated by your engagement." She sighed. "What gives, honey? Don't you wanna marry Booth?"

"Yes, I do," she replied exhaustedly, rubbing her eyes.

"Is it the baby? I thought everything was okay. Your amnio said so, anyway."

"Yes, everything's fine."

"Then what is it?"

"I just..." Tempe sighed and pulled her hands away from her eyes, visually following Angela as she went to sit on the couch. She met her friend's eyes and narrowed her own just slightly as she asked, "Do you think this is really what Booth wants?"

Angela's eyebrows made a jump toward her hairline. "Brennan, I cannot believe you are even asking me that. After what you saw at his place a week ago, how can you even ask _yourself_ that?" She leaned forward slightly. "I'm saying this harshly because I love you, Bren, but... you need to get it into your thick little skull already that this _is_ what Booth wants. This is _all_ that he wants. You. The baby. A family. Quit trying to find excuses to run."

Angela shook her head and sat back. "Running's useless anyway. Booth would just chase you down and bring you right back. You _know_ that he would."

Tempe smiled ruefully. "Yeah, he would."

"Afternoon, ladies," Hodgins greeted as he entered Brennan's office with Booth not far behind him.

Booth smiled at his fiancee. "Bones..." He made his way over to her and discretely pecked her lips, ignoring the other two. He rubbed her abdomen and smiled down at it. "Baby..." He started to lean toward her stomach to give it a kiss, but she pushed on his forehead.

Tempe's brows flicked upward. "Let's keep the kisses above the neck, or else you'll get the hose again."

Booth mirrored his fiancee's eyebrow quirk. "Yeah alright, Buffalo Bill."

Predictably, she shook her head. "I don't know what that means."

Hodgins rolled his eyes. "For the love of God, Booth, once that baby's born, take the woman to a movie, would you?"

Booth nodded. "I will. Believe me."

Tempe sighed and pushed back from the desk, her chair rolling a few feet backward. She rose to her feet slowly -- to her dismay, she was getting slower and slower everyday -- and made her way toward the door, her hand on her lower back. "Come on, Booth, I have to show you the knife marks on the latest victim."

"Hey, you want me to rub you down later? Uh... your back, I mean?" Booth followed her out.

Hodgins called over his shoulder, "Discuss your icky sex games when you're alone, please!"

Angela smacked his leg as he perched on the arm of the couch. "Knock it off. They're in love."

When she rose to her feet and went to Brennan's desk, sifting through the photographs she'd been summoned to look at, Hodgins allowed himself a chance to stare at the petite brunette. His mind drifted back to a week before, when they'd sought refuge in a closet. "Were we really having a moment?" he blurted.

He watched in amusement as her spine straightened, vertebra by vertebra.

Angela spun on her heel slowly. "Excuse me?"

He took a few steps forward, leaving his perch on the couch. "Last week. In the closet."

She fought the smile, though she knew she was already failing miserably. "What did I tell you then?"

"You said to forget it."

"And what of that?"

Hodgins shrugged and emitted a charming smile. "I've got three doctorates and a photographic memory. Asking me to forget it is asking a bit much."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Then, just chalk it up to the darkness and proximity, if you must." She then turned her back on him again and went back to the pictures.

"But was that all it really was?" he pressed, taking another step forward.

Her spine straightened once again, and she spun around, this time leaning on the desk slightly. She narrowed her eyes at the curly-haired entomologist contemplatively, her voice soft as she asked, "Why do you wanna know, Jack?"

He met Angela's eyes and all the lines he typically used to hook women suddenly fell out of his head. "I just... I thought that maybe you... uh..."

"For the last time, Booth, I am _not_ being irrational!"

Brennan stomped into the office with Booth on her heels and effectively drew the squints out of yet another moment. She slammed a file down onto her desk. "YOU'RE being irrational by accusing ME of being irrational!"

Booth made a face. "What?" And as his fiancee once again stalked out of the office, he followed her, his voice trailing off as he got further away. "_That_ was irrational. Bones..."

Angela raised her eyebrows, eyes still following her friends' tracks through the lab, and she sighed. "The trademark one o'clock mood swing. Oh joy."

"ANGELA! Where are those photos? I need you to start the sketches!"

Hodgins started for the door, alarm in his eyes. "I'd better go shut myself in my office before she goes on a rampage."

Angela nodded. "A wise choice."

"But um..." He paused in the doorway and turned to face her, once again losing all ability to speak when he was met with that expectant look in her eyes. He sighed dejectedly, "I'll see ya later," and scurried off to his office.

"See ya," Angela called back, watching his path of retreat in amusement. When he'd disappeared from sight, she let a grin escape, and bit down on her lip softly. "Hmm."

"ANGELA!"

She huffed exasperatedly and grabbed the photos. "Coming, Sweetie!" she called, as sweetly as possible. On her way out, she grabbed a chocolate bar from Brennan's desk. "Just in case," she whispered to herself, and jogged out the door.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**MORE Author's Notes:** Angela's little lip-bite and "Hmm" at the end there was a throw-back to the shippiest Hodgela episode thus-far, "The Man in the Morgue." I just love how she does that at the end of the scene, after Hodgins leaves. Very very cute, and I had to include it as an homage to that ep. More to come soon!_


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: The Obvious Issue

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 23: The Obvious Issue

---------------------

"You know, I think you frightened your squints today," Booth commented as he carried a bottle of water over to his pregnant fiancee, who was currently perched on his living room couch.

She reached over her head and gingerly took it from him, her eyes following his movements until he sat down directly beside her. "I did?" Her tone was all innocence, as if she hadn't even noticed a change in her behavior.

Booth's eyebrows flicked upward. "Uh, yeah. Zack at one point asked if he should start making out his will, just in case."

Brennan chuckled. "What did you tell him?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Told him yes. I mean... I know _you_ don't mind the kid, but if you and your mood swings don't kill him one of these days, I probably will."

She rolled her eyes. "Booth..."

"So, how about that rub-down I promised you? Huh?" He waggled his eyebrows and held his hands up, wiggling his fingers enticingly.

This won him a smile from her. "I should be working on follow-up for our case."

"Ah, follow-up can wait, Bones. I would guess your muscles can't."

Tempe shifted a bit on the couch and made a face when the muscles in her lower back protested. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Excuse me?" Booth teasingly cupped a hand around his ear and leaned close, feigning hearing loss.

She rolled her eyes once again. "I'm not afraid to sit on you and crush you."

He chuffed. "You're not as big as you think you are, Bones. I could still bench press you any day."

Tempe's brow raised briefly at the image that statement produced, and she momentarily felt a wave of arousal slide down her spine. "Really?"

Booth glanced up at her, noting the change in her tone, and he mirrored her eyebrow quirk. "I could demonstrate for you, if you like." He slid a little closer to her on the couch and gently moved her hair away from her neck, planting kisses along it.

Tempe closed her eyes and smiled. "Booth... I really _should_ do follow-up. The case..."

"Can wait, Temperance," he finished for her, fingers gently tickling her collarbone before he began to unbutton her shirt.

When he leaned down and his tongue flicked across that magic spot at the indentation of her clavicle, she gave up. Her fingers went to his head, twining through his short-cropped hair, holding him to her. "What if we can't stop?" she breathed.

Booth smiled against her skin as he parted her shirt, sliding it down her arms while he took in the swell of her abdomen. "Why would we need to stop?"

"Won't it hurt the baby?" She gently pushed him away to look into his eyes. "Won't you... y'know... poke it?"

At this, and the look of innocent confusion on her face, he chuckled. "Bones, I appreciate the ego-stroke, but you're over-exaggerating my, uh, talents just a little... aren't you?" He reached for the clip in her hair and pulled it out, lovingly admiring the riot of curls dancing around her shoulders. "You should really read those pregnancy books Angela bought for you. It can't harm the baby."

"Oh." Tempe's hands were alternately clenching and relaxing around his biceps as his hands went lower and lower. "So we don't have to stop?"

"Nope. Not if you don't want to, Bones." He met her eyes.

Her grin seared his heart, and he wanted to marry her in that instant. "Good."

"Come on." He stood and briefly glanced down at himself, wondering just when she'd unbuttoned his shirt all the way and why he hadn't noticed. Then, he leaned down and scooped her into his arms. "Now... rub down in the bedroom?"

Her smouldering stare froze him halfway to the bedroom. "Maybe after."

He let out a barely audible groan at the tone of her voice and then, with his pregnant fiancee in his arms, he made haste for the bedroom.

---------------------------

"Hey."

Angela glanced up from her sketches to see a mass of curls appear in the doorway, accompanied by Hodgins' face.

His large blue eyes panned around the room. "All clear?"

She smiled and turned her eyes back to the sketches she was filing away. "Yes, she went home with the G-man an hour ago."

He released a small sigh of relief and curled around the doorframe, leaning back against it. "Aren't you heading home?"

"Shortly." She shut down her mainframe and her computer, looking up at him when she was through and noticing his stare. "What?"

He shrugged. "Nothin'."

Angela sighed. "What's going on with you, Jack? You've been acting strange."

Hodgins stuffed his hands in the pockets of his faded blue jeans and ambled slowly into the office. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"So what's the deal? Do you have an issue with me or something?"

Another shrug. "Not really."

She tilted her head. "'Not really?' What's that supposed to mean?"

He locked on to her deep, sable eyes. "It means that, professionally, I have no issues with you."

She nodded. "Okay..." She pressed her lips together briefly. "Personally?"

In a few quick strides, he was standing directly across from her, on the other side of her desk. He noted the look of surprise on her face at the sudden quick motion. "Y'know, I really suck at this whole 'dancing-around-the-issue' thing. And I'm not good with subtlety."

"Alright, so... how do you propose addressing this obvious issue that you have with me?"

"Angela, the..." He shook his head, inwardly damning himself for being so unbelievably tongue-tied whenever she was close. "The issue I have with you isn't even a bad one. It's just... it's..."

Noting his struggle, Angela leaned slightly across her desk, pressing her hands against the cool metal. "What is it, Jack? You can tell me anything."

He lifted his eyes to hers and took the final step up to her desk. Slowly removing his hands from his pockets, he placed them on the desk and leaned on them. She didn't flinch, or back away... just held his stare, patiently awaiting a response.

He swallowed hard, then, before he lost his nerve, he leaned in and captured her lips. When he heard her utter a brief protest into his mouth, he broke away.

"Sorry," he blurted, and rushed from the office before Angela could even process what had happened.

-------------------------

TBC

-------------------------


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Social Stuff

TITLE: Undoing  
CHAPTER 24: Social Stuff

* * *

"What do you mean, 'let's do it now?'"

Booth raised an eyebrow. "I would've thought that was pretty self-explanatory." He propped himself up on his elbow, lying sideways across their bed.

Tempe sighed and cocked her head, looking at him in the mirror of her dresser... their dresser. Her things had been moved over to his place incrementally every day, until now, when she was almost completely settled in. "Booth, we can't just up and get married today. We have to work."

Booth's eyes wandered his fiancee's form, pregnant and sheathed in a cream-colored satin robe. He never would've pegged Bones as someone to buy something so girly-looking, but it definitely suited her. The sheen off the satin enhanced her natural glow. And Booth was never a fan of cliches, but in that moment, with the morning light seeping through the windows, she looked like an angel. How could he not want to marry her today?

"Come on, Bones, you've never taken a sick day in your life."

"So why should I start now?"

"Because we're getting married. Come on, we'll go down to City Hall."

"No."

He sighed. "You can't tell me you honestly are like every other girl who dreams of the giant, expensive wedding."

Tempe made a face into the mirror and picked up her brush, smoothing it through her shower-dampened cinnamon locks. "Of course not. I just don't see what the rush is."

"There's no rush, Temperance, except for the fact that I am dying to be married to you." Booth slithered and scooted down the bed until he was lying across the foot of it, close enough to reach out and just barely swipe the small of her back. "Come on. Think how great it'll be."

"Booth, I'm still not entirely sure I'm cut out for married life."

She turned around and Booth saw the vulnerability flash in her eyes, though it was there for a mere second. When she was close enough, he reached for her hand. "Look, I know you've still got some reservations because of your past, but... Bones, I don't know how many times I can say this to you before you'll listen -- I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever. Okay? This is it for me. You're it. If you still want some more time I'll give it to you, but..." He shook his head and tugged on her hand, pulling her gently down onto the bed with him. His palm cupped her cheek as he delved into her bottomless blue eyes, voice emerging as nothing more than a whisper. "God, I wanna be married to you."

Tempe swallowed hard and blinked several times in succession... trying to swallow and blink away her emotion. She chuckled tearfully. "As cheesy as that was -- and maybe this is just the hormones talking, but -- when you put it like that, it's so hard to say anything but yes."

Booth grinned hopefully, boyishly. "_Is _that a yes?"

She exhaled on a chuckle and laid her hands against his face, his stubble prickly against her palms as she leaned in for a kiss. When she pulled away, their foreheads kissed briefly. "This weekend," she whispered. Leaning back, she searched his eyes. "Okay? We'll do it this weekend."

He pecked her lips. "Okay." As he watched her get up again and this time move toward the closet, his eyes roamed her curves, and he cleared his throat. "Bones, um... speaking of doing it..."

"Yeah?" She whirled around with a shirt in hand to see him patting the mattress suggestively and waggling his eyebrows.

"Do we have time for uh... y'know..."

Tempe rolled her eyes, but smirked. "I'm already fifteen minutes late, Booth. And so are you. Get up and get dressed."

As she went into the bathroom, Booth groaned and flopped back against the mattress. "You're mean!" he called after her.

* * *

"So obviously I'll need your help picking out a dress, and... Booth said something about you and Hodgins needing to witness... something..."

"Mmhmm."

"Ange?"

"Yeah." Dark eyes slowly rose from staring at the coffee table, things swimming into focus once more for the previously-distracted Angela Montenegro.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Why?"

"I just... thought you'd be more enthusiastic about this. I mean... this is the kind of stuff you enjoy, isn't it? Weddings, and... happiness and stuff?"

"I'm sorry, Sweetie, I'm just kinda..." Angela trailed off, then huffed suddenly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Tempe busied herself sorting the mail on her desk, tossing the appropriate items into her outbox before reaching for her letter opener. She grabbed the first letter out of her inbox and tore it open. "What is it?"

"What do you think of me and Hodgins?"

Automatically, she responded, "I think you're both extremely brilliant and an invaluable asset to the Jeffersonian. I mean, you're an unbelievably talented artist and I'm sure you could have your own gallery by now, and... Hodgins has three doctorates and a limitless capacity for knowledge, he could easily do whatever he wanted, so--"

"No. I mean... me and Hodgins as people. Together."

This drew the anthropologist's attention away from her mail, and a vertical crease appeared between her eyebrows while she contemplated her friend. "Together? What does that mean?"

Angela decided to waste no more time beating around the bush. "He kissed me lastnight."

Tempe's eyes widened, her tone a mix of incredulous, and taken aback. "Why?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Gee, honey, way to make it sound like I'm the elephant man."

"I don't know what--"

"I know, I know."

Tempe took in the stress hugging Angela's normally-jovial features and for once was nearly desperate to know what was going through her friend's mind. "So he kissed you."

"Yeah. And then he broke away, stuttered an apology, and was out the door before I could even recover from the initial shock."

"What did you do when you recovered, then?"

Angela shrugged. "By the time I had, he was gone. I left him a couple messages, but I haven't heard anything back yet."

"Hey Brennan, did you--" Hodgins froze in the doorway when he spotted Angela. "Uh..."

He and Angela just stared at each other while Tempe's brow slowly arched. She was oddly amused by the interaction she saw taking place. "Jack?"

His clear blue gaze snapped back to her. "Sorry. Did you get the file I left for you?"

She nodded. "It's the one of many I have to find time to go over before this weekend."

"Why? What's going on this weekend?"

Tempe shrugged, discarding old envelopes in her recycling bin. "Not that much. Booth and I are getting married."

"WHAT!"

The surprised shriek in unison widened Tempe's eyes. "What?" She gestured to her best friend. "I already told you this ten minutes ago."

"You did?"

"Yes. I believe that's when you were upset about Hodgins kissing you."

Awkwardness returned instantaneously. Hodgins and Angela exchanged a look... Angela apologetic, Hodgins confused.

"You were upset?"

Angela shook her head. "Jack... she didn't mean it like that, she meant--"

"No that's alright, I got it. Thanks." Hurt clouded his eyes, and he tossed a glance at Brennan. "Congratulations. I'll, uh... catch up with you later." With that, he turned tail and made haste toward his office.

When he was gone, Angela looked to her friend wearing an incredulous expression. "Sweetie..."

"I'm sorry," came Tempe's immediate apology. "That was the wrong word, I know. Should I go talk to him?"

Angela's eyes grew wide for a split-second, and she leapt off the couch almost in desperation. "No! Sweetie, really. That's okay. You're uh..." She exhaled a smile and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Look, I love you, but... you suck at the social stuff. You know, talking, and..."

Tempe rolled her eyes. "I know. That's why I was hoping to talk to Hodgins for you." She shrugged one shoulder. "I mean, I should learn how to do this sometime, right? Besides, you've spoken to Booth on my behalf before. The least I could do is return the favor."

Angela noted the sincerity in her friend's blue eyes, and she conceded. "Okay. Fine. But honey..."

Already on her way out the door, Tempe called over her shoulder, "I won't mess it up, I promise."

When Angela was alone in her best friend's office, she blew a forceful puff of air through pursed lips, and glanced longingly at the chocolate bar resting on the desk. After a moment, she sighed, "Oh screw it," and tore it open, rationalizing to herself aloud, "I'm gonna need this today."

* * *

TBC

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Told you I didn't forget about this one ;) And this is dedicated to all those who inspire me continually, FanficAddiction in particular. Also Andi, Gayle, Mariah, Anne, and of course Gomey :D


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